An Empirical Assessment of the Effects of Cancer on Family Role Functioning

The initial results of a longitudinal study of 54 cancer patients and their families are reported. This study focused on the impact of cancer on the family's reallocation of roles and on the psychosocial environment by applying a developmental model to the analysis of roles in the family throughout its life cycle. Major factors that were examined included marital communication, the family's method of assigning roles before the onset of cancer and its pattern of reallocating roles, and the family's stage in the family life cycle. It was hypothesized that these factors would influence the performance of roles by other family members and the family's psychosocial environment at the time of hospitalization. The results indicated that the spouses' communication patterns strongly influenced how well roles were enacted, thc amount of role strain and role conflict, and the level of cohesion and conflict in the family. The method that the family used for reassigning roles also significantly influenced how well roles were performed and the level of cohesion in the family.