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Sources of support and the physical and mental well-being of young women with breast cancer

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  • Bloom, Joan R.
  • Stewart, Susan L.
  • Johnston, Monica
  • Banks, Priscilla
  • Fobair, Patricia

Abstract

Women following the stress resulting from the diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer draw resources from their network of friends and relatives. These resources include both emotional support and instrumental resources such as getting a ride to a medical appointment. Emotional support buffers the effects of the stresses they face and improves their mental well-being while the existence, rather than the use, of instrumental supports is positively related to physical well-being. These hypotheses are tested on a population-based cohort of 336 women in the United States, diagnosed and treated for breast cancer when aged 50 or less. Most are married (65%), work (75%), have dependent children (63%), are white (70%), and had a mastectomy (51%). Results of the multi-variate analyses indicate that consistent with predictions, controlling for socio-demographic and treatment-related variables, the size of the social network was related to greater emotional and instrumental support, and greater emotional support was related to better mental well-being. Contrary to predictions, greater use of instrumental resources was related to poorer physical well-being. The results indicate the importance of social resources on well-being following life-threatening illness.

Suggested Citation

  • Bloom, Joan R. & Stewart, Susan L. & Johnston, Monica & Banks, Priscilla & Fobair, Patricia, 2001. "Sources of support and the physical and mental well-being of young women with breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(11), pages 1513-1524, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:53:y:2001:i:11:p:1513-1524
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Özlem Bozo & Ece Tathan & Tuğba Yılmaz, 2014. "Does Perceived Social Support Buffer the Negative Effects of Type C Personality on Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 791-801, November.
    2. Yasemin Yildirim & Seher Kocabiyik, 2010. "The relationship between social support and loneliness in Turkish patients with cancer," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(5‐6), pages 832-839, March.
    3. Xing Zhou & Lele Fan & Cong Cheng & Yancheng Fan, 2021. "When and Why Do Good People Not Do Good Deeds? Third-Party Observers’ Unfavorable Reactions to Negative Workplace Gossip," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(3), pages 599-617, July.
    4. Lin, Xiaolin & Kishore, Rajiv, 2021. "Social media-enabled healthcare: A conceptual model of social media affordances, online social support, and health behaviors and outcomes," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    5. Sukriye Ilkay Guner & Sukran Sevimli & Bahattin Bulduk & Hakan Orakci, 2014. "Perceived Social Support Levels Among Medical Staff Working at the Medical Faculty Hospital of Van Following the 2011 Van-Turkey Earthquake," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 23(2), pages 119-131, April.

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