title: Hope and social support in elderly patients with cancer and their partners: an actor-partner interdependence model.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assess relationships between oldest-old (minimum 86 years) patients' perceived social support to their own and their spousal caregivers' hope through application of the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM).
  
  
  METHODS
  58 dyads of patients and their spousal caregivers completed standardized self-report measures of depression, distress, hope and social support.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients presented high distress levels. Among patients and spouses, perceived social support was positively correlated to their own level of hope (β = 0.44, p < 0.0001; β = 0.56, p < 0.0001, respectively) and negatively correlated to the other's level of hope (β = -0.25, p < 0.024; β = -0.44, p < 0.0001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The actor-partner interdependence model was found to be adequate for describing relationships between social support and hope among dyads of oldest-old patients and their spousal caregivers. Patients and caregiver seem to utilize social support to enhance hope.
authors.affiliation: School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel-Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Goldzweig
authors.affiliation: Oncology Institute, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Lea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baider
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Oncology, The Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andritsch
authors.affiliation: Sharett Oncology Institute, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Yakir
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rottenberg
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D065026:Hope; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support
keywords: distress; hope; oldest-old