title: Fear of progression in partners of chronically ill patients.
abstract: Fear of progression (FoP) is one of the most prevalent symptoms in cancer patients. This chronic disease does not only have a profound impact on patients, but also on their spouses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a spouse FoP questionnaire (FoP-Q-SF/P) in 227 partners of chronically ill patients (breast cancer, prostate cancer, and diabetes mellitus) in Germany. Estimates of reliability were high (α = 0.88). The original one-factor structure of the FoP-Q-SF for patients was replicated. We used the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Scale, Impact of Event Scale-revised, Short Form-8 Health Survey, Quality of Marriage Index, Partnership Questionnaire, and Dyadic Coping Inventory to validate the FoP-Q-SF/P. Significant positive correlations were found for anxiety, hyperarousal and intrusion (r > .61) as well as for depression and avoidance (r > .51). Partners of patients with cancer reported significantly higher levels of FoP than did partners of patients with diabetes mellitus. The FoP-Q-SF/P is a reliable and valid instrument that can be recommended for further use in research and clinical care.
authors: University of Braunschweig, Institute of Psychology, Braunschweig, Germany. t.zimmermann@tu-braunschweig.de
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Zimmermann
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Herschbach
authors: Martina
authors: M
authors: Wessarges
authors: Nina
authors: N
authors: Heinrichs
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000451:nursing; D018450:Disease Progression; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires