Grant Number:	5R01CA078084-11 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Manne, Sharon
Organization:	Fox Chase Cancer Center
Project Title:	Couple-Focused Interventions for Breast Cancer Patients
Fiscal Year:	2012

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over the course of the past 7 years, we have conducted a series of studies of women with early stage breast cancer and their partners seeking to understand relationship support processes and to intervene with couples to determine if couple-focused group interventions are beneficial. Our results have underscored the importance of communication between partners particularly when the patient is sharing her concerns and /worries about breast cancer. The goal of the next proposed study in our program of research is to evaluate he efficacy of an enhanced couple-focused group intervention (ECG) against a Support Group intervention SG) and Usual Care (UC). ECG increases the emphasis on facilitating support and intimacy-building and stress management skills and practice and contains two more sessions. Our pilot data suggests that ECG has stronger effects than our prior couple-focused group intervention and also may impact partners. This study will advance our previous work by: 1) examining whether ECG has stronger effects on patient functioning than SG, which facilitates group support but does not target relationship support and stress management skills; 2) identifying the mechanisms of change for ECG versus SG; 3) evaluating the impact of ECG versus SG and UC on a broader range of outcomes including partner ratings of patient functioning, role/social functioning, treatment adherence, partner psychosocial functioning, and partner support and stress management skills; 4) identifying moderators for ECG and SG. 638 patients and their partners will be randomly assigned to ECG, SG, or UC. Couples will complete surveys pre-intervention, 1 week, 6 months and one year post-intervention. The primary aims are: 1) To evaluate the impact of ECG, SG versus UC on patients' psychological functioning; 2) To evaluate whether relationship support, relationship intimacy, stress management skills, and intervention group support mediate changes in patient functioning. A secondary aim examines the impact of the interventions on role and social functioning and treatment adherence. An exploratory aim evaluates the impact of ECG versus SG and UC on partner and couple-level functioning and on partner's perception of relationship support, intimacy, stress management, and intervention group support.




Psychological distress as a mediator of the association between disease severity and occupational functioning among employed spouses of women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S.L. , Siegel S. , Heckman C.J. , Kashy D.A. .
Source: Psycho-oncology, 2015 Nov; 24(11), p. 1560-8.
PMID: 25759107
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Cancer-specific Relationship Awareness, Relationship Communication, and Intimacy Among Couples Coping with Early Stage Breast Cancer.
Authors: Manne S.L. , Siegel S. , Kashy D. , Heckman C.J. .
Source: Journal Of Social And Personal Relationships, 2014 May; 31(3), p. 314-334.
PMID: 25242854
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Unsupportive partner behaviors, social-cognitive processing, and psychological outcomes in couples coping with early stage breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S. , Kashy D.A. , Siegel S. , Myers Virtue S. , Heckman C. , Ryan D. .
Source: Journal Of Family Psychology : Jfp : Journal Of The Division Of Family Psychology Of The American Psychological Association (division 43), 2014 Apr; 28(2), p. 214-24.
PMID: 24611691
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Informational Needs of Head and Neck Cancer Patients.
Authors: Fang C.Y. , Longacre M.L. , Manne S.L. , Ridge J.A. , Lango M.N. , Burtness B.A. .
Source: Health And Technology, 2012-04-01 00:00:00.0; 2(1), p. 57-62.
EPub date: 2012-04-01 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 22518350
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Therapy processes and outcomes of psychological interventions for women diagnosed with gynecological cancers: A test of the generic process model of psychotherapy.
Authors: Manne S. , Winkel G. , Zaider T. , Rubin S. , Hernandez E. , Bergman C. .
Source: Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 2010 Apr; 78(2), p. 236-48.
PMID: 20350034
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Cognitive and social processes predicting partner psychological adaptation to early stage breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S. , Ostroff J. , Fox K. , Grana G. , Winkel G. .
Source: British Journal Of Health Psychology, 2009 Feb; 14(Pt 1), p. 49-68.
PMID: 18435865
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Intimacy and relationship processes in couples' psychosocial adaptation to cancer.
Authors: Manne S. , Badr H. .
Source: Cancer, 2008-06-01 00:00:00.0; 112(11 Suppl), p. 2541-55.
PMID: 18428202
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Social-cognitive processes as moderators of a couple-focused group intervention for women with early stage breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S. , Ostroff J.S. , Winkel G. .
Source: Health Psychology : Official Journal Of The Division Of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2007 Nov; 26(6), p. 735-44.
PMID: 18020846
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Protective buffering and psychological distress among couples coping with breast cancer: The moderating role of relationship satisfaction.
Authors: Manne S.L. , Norton T.R. , Ostroff J.S. , Winkel G. , Fox K. , Grana G. .
Source: Journal Of Family Psychology : Jfp : Journal Of The Division Of Family Psychology Of The American Psychological Association (division 43), 2007 Sep; 21(3), p. 380-8.
PMID: 17874923
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Cancer-related relationship communication in couples coping with early stage breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S.L. , Ostroff J.S. , Norton T.R. , Fox K. , Goldstein L. , Grana G. .
Source: Psycho-oncology, 2006 Mar; 15(3), p. 234-47.
PMID: 15926198
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Partner unsupportive responses, avoidant coping, and distress among women with early stage breast cancer: patient and partner perspectives.
Authors: Manne S.L. , Ostroff J. , Winkel G. , Grana G. , Fox K. .
Source: Health Psychology : Official Journal Of The Division Of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2005 Nov; 24(6), p. 635-41.
PMID: 16287411
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The interpersonal process model of intimacy: the role of self-disclosure, partner disclosure, and partner responsiveness in interactions between breast cancer patients and their partners.
Authors: Manne S. , Ostroff J. , Rini C. , Fox K. , Goldstein L. , Grana G. .
Source: Journal Of Family Psychology : Jfp : Journal Of The Division Of Family Psychology Of The American Psychological Association (division 43), 2004 Dec; 18(4), p. 589-99.
PMID: 15598164
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Couples' support-related communication, psychological distress, and relationship satisfaction among women with early stage breast cancer.
Authors: Manne S. , Sherman M. , Ross S. , Ostroff J. , Heyman R.E. , Fox K. .
Source: Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 2004 Aug; 72(4), p. 660-70.
PMID: 15301651
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