2007 Final Program - Society of Behavioral Medicine

SOCIETY of BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE
Rapid Communications Posters Thursday, March 22, 2007 • 6:30 PM-8:00 PM • Poster Session B
Social support has been shown to be a predictor of quality of life
(QOL) across various chronic disease populations. This study
examined the relationship between social support and QOL
prospectively among ethnically diverse men treated for localized
Prostate Cancer (PC). Participants had an average age of 65 years
(SD=6.73; N=249), 14 years (SD=3.33) of formal education, and
had an average income of $50,960 (SD=$50,164). All received
either radical prostatectomy (n=127) or radiation treatment
(n=122) for localized PC. The ethnic composition was 41.5%
non-Hispanic White, 16.9% non-Hispanic Black, and 41.5%
Hispanic. The Enriched Social Support Inventory (ESSI) was
assessed at baseline. A composite score of the physical, functional,
and emotional subscales of the Functional Assessment of Cancer
Therapy-General (FACT-G), was assessed at baseline and 15 month
follow-up (reliability for combined scales: Chronbach’s α=.70).
After controlling for baseline composite QOL (excluding the social
well-being subscale), medical variables, and socio-economic status;
greater social support significantly predicted greater QOL at a 15-
month follow-up [β=.221, t=3.346 (p 20%) and anxiety (> 20%). However, after matching the African-
American and Caucasian men on age, education, and stage of
disease, African-American men displayed significantly lower levels of
depression than Caucasian men (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The lower rate of depression in African-American men
as compared to Caucasian men is surprising considering that on
average African-American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer
at a younger age with later stage disease than Caucasian men. These
results underscore the importance of research that is specifically
designed to elucidate the type and incidence of psychological
distress in African-American men with prostate cancer.
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Vidhya Bhaskaran, BS,
Psychiatry, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York,
NY, 10022; bhaskarv@mskcc.org
2496
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SICK ROLE AND
POST-TRANSPLANT FUNCTIONAL STATUS IN KIDNEY
TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS
Annette Cerrato, PhD, 1 , 2 Matthew Avitable, PhD, 1 Laura Hayman,
PhD 2 RN, FAAN and Elizabeth Norman, PhD 2
1
Transplant Division, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
and 2 Nursing, New York Universtiy, New York, NY.
The primary purpose of kidney transplantation is physical and social
rehabilitation for individuals with end stage renal disease(ESRD).
Although transplantation has demonstrated improved quality
of life over dialysis, the dependence on dialysis necessary for
survival may create a sick role identity that reinforces dependent
existence and relegation of social responsibility. Guided by the
theoretical framework of Talcott Parsons, this cross-sectional
study was an initial attempt to examine dimensions of the sick
role and post-transplant functional status in primarily low-income
kidney transplant recipients. The convenience sample consisted
of 97 transplant recipients (mean age 45.8 years; SD=12.8;
47% female; 68% black. Self report data were collected during a
post-transplant clinic visit and included the Response to Illness
Questionnaire(RIQ)used to measure sick role perceptions, the
Functional Status Questionnaire(FSQ), used to measure functional
status, and an investigator developed instrument used to measure
socio-demographic data and health-related co-morbidities. Factor
analysis of the RIQ identified seven distinct factors which accounted
for 62.2% of total score variance. Multiple regression analysis
indicated that RIQ factors (coping with illness, resentment of illness
and educational level) were the most highly significant predictors
(p/=high school) who have the strongest
coping skills and the least resentment toward illness seem best able
to gain strength and reject the sick role as a permanent identity.
Collective results point to the need for additional research to inform
and guide individually tailored preventive interventions designed to
optimize functional ability in vulnerable transplant recipients.