Enabling or Cultivating? The Role of Prostate Cancer Patients' Received Partner Support and Self-Efficacy in the Maintenance of Pelvic Floor Exercise Following Tumor Surgery.
BACKGROUND
To manage incontinence following tumor surgery, prostate cancer patients are advised to perform pelvic floor exercise (PFE). Patients' self-efficacy and support from partners were shown to facilitate PFE. Whereas support may enhance self-efficacy (enabling function), self-efficacy may also cultivate support (cultivation function).


OBJECTIVE
Cross-lagged inter-relationships among self-efficacy, support, and PFE were investigated.


METHODS
Post-surgery patient-reported received support, self-efficacy, PFE, and partner-reported provided support were assessed from 175 couples at four times. Autoregressive models tested interrelations among variables, using either patients' or partners' reports of support.


RESULTS
Models using patients' data revealed positive associations between self-efficacy and changes in received support, which predicted increased PFE. Using partners' accounts of support provided, these associations were partially cross-validated. Furthermore, partner-provided support was related with increases in patients' self-efficacy.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients' self-efficacy may cultivate partners' support provision for patients' PFE, whereas evidence of an enabling function of support as a predictor of self-efficacy was inconsistent.
Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Division of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany. hilda.hohl@fu-berlin.de.
Diana Hilda
DH
Hohl
Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Division of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Nina
N
Knoll
Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Division of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Amelie
A
Wiedemann
Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Division of Health Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
Jan
J
Keller
Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Urte
U
Scholz
Department of Urology, Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, Berlin, Germany.
Mark
M
Schrader
Institute of Medical Psychology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Silke
S
Burkert
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology
Cultivation hypothesis; Enabling hypothesis; Pelvic floor exercise; Prostate cancer; Received social support; Self-efficacy