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OBJECTIVE: Patients and partners both cope individually and as a dyad with challenges related to a breast cancer diagnosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a psychological attachment-oriented couple intervention for breast cancer patients and partners in the early treatment phase.METHODS: A randomised controlled trial including 198 recently diagnosed breast cancer patients and their partners. Couples were randomised to the Hand in Hand (HiH) intervention in addition to usual care or to usual care only. Self-report assessments were conducted for both patients and partners at baseline, postintervention (5 months), and follow-up (10 months), assessing cancer-related distress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and dyadic adjustment. Patients' cancer-related distress was the primary outcome.RESULTS: Cancer-related distress decreased over time in both patients and partners, but the intervention did not significantly affect this decrease at postintervention (P = .08) or follow-up (P = .71). A significant positive effect was found on dyadic adjustment at follow-up for both patients (P = .04) and partners (P = .02).CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant effect of the HiH intervention cancer-related distress. The results suggest that most couples can cope with cancer-related distress in the context of usual care. However, the positive effect on dyadic adjustment implies that the HiH intervention benefitted both patients and partners. Future studies should investigate how to integrate a couple focus in usual cancer care to improve dyadic coping in the early treatment phase.

ObjectiveIt is widely recognised that significant others (SOs), such as a partner, family member or friend, can influence health outcomes of individuals with a chronic disease. However, not much is known about which specific cognitions (ie, illness perceptions and expectation of work ability) and behaviours (eg, emotional and practical support) of SOs influence work participation. Therefore, we aimed to identify cognitions and behaviours of SOs that are related to work participation of individuals with a chronic disease.DesignA systematic review and thematic synthesis.Data sourcesPubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Web of Science were searched until 28 March 2017.Eligibility criteria for selecting studiesWe included studies reporting on cognitions and behaviours of SOs related to work participation in populations with various chronic diseases.Data extraction and synthesisTwo independent reviewers extracted the data and performed a quality assessment using the Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies from the Effective Public Health Practice Project 2007 and a checklist for assessment of qualitative studies derived from the Cochrane Supplemental Handbook Guidance. Evidence was thematically synthesised.ResultsOut of 5168 articles, 18 were included (15 qualitative and 3 quantitative) of moderate to high quality. Studies were on cancer, chronic pain, brain injuries and mental health disorders. After thematic synthesis 27 factors could be distinguished. Consistent evidence was found that SOs’ positive and encouraging attitudes regarding work participation, encouragement and motivating behaviour and open communication with patients are facilitators for work participation. Consistently reported barriers were SOs’ positive attitudes towards sickness absence and advise, encouragement or pressure to refrain from work.ConclusionsOur findings show that several cognitions and behaviours of SOs can facilitate or hinder work participation of individuals with a chronic disease. Intervening on these factors by involving SOs in disability prevention and return to work intervention strategies may be beneficial. More prognostic studies are needed, as the current evidence is mostly based on qualitative studies.

Purpose It is unknown whether positive psychological changes (e.g., in life perspective, self-perception, and social relationships) after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer can reduce anxiety and depression in patients and their partners. The first aim of the present study was to assess differences in anxiety and depression between patients diagnosed with an ovarian tumor and their partners. The second aim was to explore the mutual associations of patients' and partners' posttraumatic growth and their anxiety and depressive symptoms.Methods Participants included 130 Dutch couples of which one partner was diagnosed with a borderline ovarian tumor or ovarian cancer between 2000 and 2010, as registered by the Netherlands Cancer Registry. In September 2011, a questionnaire was sent including the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (anxiety and depression) and Cancer Survivors (Partners) Unmet Needs measure (positive psychological changes).Results A one-way multivariate analysis of variance showed that patients reported higher anxiety than partners, without differences in depression. Contrasting to our expectations, an actor-partner interdependence model revealed no mutual dyadic associations between positive psychological changes and anxiety or depressive symptoms.Conclusions Based on these findings, positive psychological change seems to be an independent construct unrelated to anxiety or depression in couples diagnosed with ovarian tumors. Still, as ovarian tumor patients and partners suffer from high anxiety and depression, further research investigating how these feelings can be reduced in couples dealing with an ovarian tumor is necessary.

Background Among older couples, spouses are first in line to provide care, and they are key elements in the home support of dependent older persons. In this context, ensuring the health of these older spousal caregivers should be an important issue for all of the providers who care for older adults. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess the health of older spousal caregivers considering frailty, nutrition, cognition, physical performance and mood disorders. Methods In this longitudinal, observational cohort study, participants were assessed at home in Wallonia, Belgium. At baseline, 82 community-dwelling spouses of older patients with cognitive deficits or functional impairment were assessed; 78 caregivers were assessed at follow-up (16 months). The clinical instruments used included Frailty Phenotype (Fried), the Mini Nutritional Assessment-short form (MNA-SF), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), clock drawing test, medications, Zarit Burden Index (ZBI), and Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA). Biological assessments included plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), cortisol, albumin and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Results Among caregivers, 54% were women, and the mean age was 80 years. Among care-receivers, 83% had cognitive impairment. Caregivers were more likely to be in a pre-frail stage. In one-third of the caregivers, the frailty status worsened. Transitions were observed between each of the states, except from frail to robust. In contrast to frailty, items including nutrition, cognitive status, SPPB and mood assessments were stable over time, with approximately 70% of the caregivers not experiencing significant change at follow-up. Caregiver experiences assessed with the Zarit Burden Interview and CRA were relatively stable over 16 months. Conclusion Many caregivers of geriatric patients are spouses who are old themselves. A failure in the health of the caregiver may anticipate an undesired care breakdown. Caregiver health and its determinants should be explored in future longitudinal studies that cover a longer time period. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12877-018-0980-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

ObjectivesThis study of Japanese dual-earner couples examined the impact of family and job demands on one’s own and one’s partner’s fatigue as well as gender differences in these effects. MethodsA total of 2,502 parents (1,251 couples) were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. A crossover model was tested using structural equation modeling. ResultsThe results of structural equation modeling analyses showed that both job and family demands independently exacerbated fatigue. There was an indirect effect of job and family demands on partner fatigue through one’s own fatigue only from husbands to wives. An indirect effect of job demands on partner fatigue through partner’s family demands was identified only from wives to husbands. Furthermore, there were gender differences in the crossover of fatigue. ConclusionsThis study shows that job and family demands influence family circumstances. When considering means to reduce employees’ fatigue, gender differences in the mechanism of fatigue need to be taken into account.

The simulation theory assumes we understand actions and intentions of others through a direct matching process. This matching process activates a complex brain network involving the mirror neuron system (MNS), which is self-related and active when one does something or observes someone else acting. Because social psychology admits that mutual intention's understanding grows in close relationship as love grows, we hypothesize that mirror mechanisms take place in love relationships. The similarities between the mirror matching process and the mutual intention's understanding that occurs when two persons are in love suggest that exposure to love might affect functional and neural mechanisms, thus facilitating the understanding of the beloved's intentions. Congruent with our hypothesis, our preliminary results from 38 subjects strongly suggest a significant facilitation effect of love on understanding the intentions of the beloved (as opposed to control stimuli). Based on these phenomenological, and neurofunctional findings we suggest that the mirror mechanisms are involved in the facilitation effects of love for understanding intentions, and might further be extended to any types of love (e.g., passionate love, maternal love). Love experiences are important not only to the beloved himself, but also to any societal, cultural, and institutional patterns that relate to love. Yet, concerning its subjective character, love experiences are difficult to access. The modern procedures and techniques of socio-cognitive neuroscience make it possible to understand love and self-related experiences not only by the analysis of subjective self-reported questionnaires, but also by approaching the automatic (non-conscious) mirror experiences of love in healthy subjects, and neurological patients with a brain damage within the mirror neuron system. Although the psychology of love is now well admitted, the systematic study of the automatic facilitation effect of love through mirror mechanisms might open a new avenue towards the social mind and also self consciousness.

OBJECTIVE: The way couples deal with stressors is likely to influence their adjustment after breast cancer diagnosis. Based on the systemic-transactional model, this study examined whether the supportive, delegated and negative dyadic coping provided by patients and partners and their common dyadic coping as a couple were associated with change in relationship quality and depressive symptoms over time.METHOD: Women with breast cancer and their male partners (N = 538 couples) participated in a longitudinal study (Time 1, ≤4 months after surgery; Time 2, 5 months later). Dyadic coping was assessed using the Dyadic Coping Inventory (Bodenmann, 2008). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977) and the Relationship Ladder (Kuijer, Buunk, De Jong, Ybema, & Sanderman, 2004) measured depressive symptoms and relationship quality, respectively.RESULTS: Negative dyadic coping was adversely associated with both patients' and partners' outcomes. The more patients rated the couple as engaging in common dyadic coping, the higher relationship quality and the fewer depressive symptoms both patients and partners experienced. Patients experienced more depressive symptoms the more delegated coping (i.e., taking over tasks) they provided to the partner. Partners experienced fewer depressive symptoms the more delegated coping they provided to the patient, but more depressive symptoms the more supportive coping the patient provided to them.CONCLUSION: This study has contributed to disentangling how dyadic coping behaviors influence couples' adjustment. Interventions may focus on reducing negative dyadic coping and strengthening common dyadic coping, and be attentive to the different effects of dyadic coping on patients and partners. (PsycINFO Database Record

Introduction Parkinson9s disease (PD) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI-PD) or dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are characterised by motor and ‘non-motor’ symptoms which impact on quality of life. Treatment options are generally limited to pharmacological approaches. We developed a psychosocial intervention to improve cognition, quality of life and companion burden for people with MCI-PD, PDD or DLB. Here, we describe the protocol for a single-blind randomised controlled trial to assess feasibility, acceptability and tolerability of the intervention and to evaluate treatment implementation. The interaction among the intervention and selected outcome measures and the efficacy of this intervention in improving cognition for people with MCI-PD, PDD or DLB will also be explored. Methods and analysis Dyads will be randomised into two treatment arms to receive either ‘treatment as usual’ (TAU) or cognitive stimulation therapy specifically adapted for Parkinson9s-related dementias (CST-PD), involving 30 min sessions delivered at home by the study companion three times per week over 10 weeks. A mixed-methods approach will be used to collect data on the operational aspects of the trial and treatment implementation. This will involve diary keeping, telephone follow-ups, dyad checklists and researcher ratings. Analysis will include descriptive statistics summarising recruitment, acceptability and tolerance of the intervention, and treatment implementation. To pilot an outcome measure of efficacy, we will undertake an inferential analysis to test our hypothesis that compared with TAU, CST-PD improves cognition. Qualitative approaches using thematic analysis will also be applied. Our findings will inform a larger definitive trial. Ethics and dissemination Ethical opinion was granted (REC reference: 15/YH/0531). Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences. We will prepare reports for dissemination by organisations involved with PD and dementia. Trial registration number ISRCTN (ISRCTN11455062).

Background: Quality of Life (QOL) is known to be impaired in patients with Heart Failure (HF). The involvement of a key person, most often the spouse, enables the HF patient to manage the medical regimen and therefore to sustain Quality of Life (QOL). Yet little is known on the impact of caring for an HF patient on the QOL of the caregiving partner. This study aims to explore the QOL of partners of HF patients compared to the QOL of the patients. Methods: The study population consisted of 38 couples of hospitalized HF patients and their partners. The Cantril Ladder of Life was used to rate QOL during hospitalization, with regard to the month prior to hospitalization and as projected 3 years in the future. Demographic and clinical variables were collected by patient interview and chart review. Results: On a scale from 0–10, QOL scores of partners varied from 5.9 to 6.4. At some point the QOL score of partners was even lower than the QOL scores of HF patients. In the month prior to hospital admission the QOL of partners was significantly higher in comparison to the QOL of HF patients (6.1 vs. 4.9, respectively). However, this reversed during hospital admission, with QOL scores of partners being significantly lower compared to QOL scores of HF patients (5.9 vs. 6.8, respectively), even after correcting for age and gender. Conclusion: In our study the QOL of partners of HF patients was low. Whether this is explicitly due to having to live with a HF patient is not clear. Further research on what partners actually do and the relationship between being a caregiver and QOL is necessary in order to support these partners in giving optimal care and support.