title: Shared possible selves, other-focus, and perceived wellness of couples with prostate cancer.
abstract: Shared possible selves are associated with better well-being in couples through their engagement in and enjoyment of collaboration (Schindler, Berg, Butler, Fortenberry, & Wiebe, 2010). The present study sought to address which partner's other-focus accounted for this sharedness in possible selves and how the individual and dyadic configurations of other-focused selves relate to health and well-being (i.e., perceived wellness) in an important health context for adult couples-prostate cancer. Sixty-one men diagnosed with prostate cancer and their wives rated their own subjective physical health and well-being and listed possible selves. Possible selves were reliably coded for the inclusion of the other (i.e., other-focus), either with the other as the subject or communal in content. Regression analysis showed that wives' other-focus, not husbands', explained variance in shared selves. A Bayesian actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) of both partners' other-focus and interaction between the 2 revealed a pattern that differed by partner. The association between husband other-focus and his perceived wellness was negative for husbands whose wives were low in other-focus and not significant for husbands with highly other-focused wives. Women's sense of perceived wellness did not relate to either partner's other-focus. Results support the notion that shared possible selves may be shared unequally in couples facing chronic illness and suggest the importance of considering both partners' other-focus to understand perceived wellness. Findings may point to more general processes of relational adaptation to major life stressors such as prostate cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Stephanie J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University.
authors.forename: Mary Jon
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barrineau
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Butner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Utah.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Berg
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D055809:Illness Behavior; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires