Abstract
PurposeWe examined the effect of informal cancer caregiver stress and negative attribution style (NAS) on depressive symptoms and salivary cortisol.MethodThe sample came from a hospital bone marrow unit and caregiver support organizations and included 60 informal cancer caregivers (51.7% partners) of individuals with cancer (provided care for a median of 27.5 h per week for 12 months) and 46 non-caregiver participants. In this cross-sectional study, participants completed questionnaires assessing NAS and depressive symptoms and provided saliva samples to measure cortisol.ResultsLinear regressions demonstrated that cancer caregiver stress (p = 0.001) and the cancer caregiver stress by NAS interaction (p = 0.017), but not NAS alone (p = 0.152), predicted depressive symptoms. Caregivers independent of their NAS and non-caregivers high in NAS reported high depression while non-caregivers low in NAS reported low depression. Neither cancer caregiver stress (p = 0.920) nor NAS alone (p = 0.114), but their interaction, predicted cortisol (p = 0.036). Higher NAS was associated with a higher cortisol in both groups while non-caregivers had higher cortisol than caregivers.ConclusionsIf the findings can be replicated, consideration of NAS in existing interventions to support informal cancer caregivers in managing chronic stress appears warranted.
Highlights
Based on the 2020 Caregiving in the US report [1], cancer is one of the top five reasons for informal caregiving, the process by which family members and friends provide support to someone with cancer
While both negative attribution style (NAS) and cortisol are associated with depression [15, 28] and CVD [8, 9, 19], no previous study examined the relation between stressful situations in general and NAS with cortisol nor between cancer caregiver stress and NAS with depressive symptoms and cortisol in particular
Following the reformulated helplessness theory [14] and empirical research, we predicted that (a) cancer caregiver stress would be associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms [4, 5] and salivary cortisol [for a review see 6]; (b) NAS would be positively related to depressive symptoms [for a review see 15] and cortisol independent of cancer caregiver stress; and (c) NAS serves as moderator [14] by increasing the effect of cancer caregiver stress on depressive symptoms and salivary cortisol
Summary
Based on the 2020 Caregiving in the US report [1], cancer is one of the top five reasons for informal caregiving, the process by which family members and friends provide support to someone with cancer. Prior work has described associations of NAS with measures of physical health ranging from self-reported hypertension [16] and general health [17], to specific measures of physical functioning, like the T lymphocyte CD4/CD8 ratio (T-lymphocytes which are part of the immune system) and their response to stimulation by Phytohaemagglutinin [18], to incidents of CVD [19], and death caused by a coronary event [19, 20] While both NAS and cortisol are associated with depression [15, 28] and CVD [8, 9, 19], no previous study examined the relation between stressful situations in general and NAS with cortisol nor between cancer caregiver stress and NAS with depressive symptoms and cortisol in particular. Considering the relevance of depression [for a review see 5] and cortisol [for a review see 6] and the importance of a modifiable factor like NAS [13] for interventions to improve health in this population, this seems a crucial gap in the literature
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
