Marital adjustment in the context of female breast cancer: A systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
Breast cancer (BC) diagnosis and subsequent treatments present significant challenges and distress for both patients and their partners. This can lead to difficulties in marital relationships and, consequently, decreases in marital adjustment and psychosocial adaptation to BC for both partners. Our objective was to systematically review studies assessing marital adjustment in the context of female BC to understand which factors are associated with marital adjustment in both patients and partners and characterize the measures used to assess marital adjustment within these studies.


METHODS
This systematic review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. English, peer-reviewed articles exploring factors associated with marital adjustment in the context of female BC were considered for inclusion.


RESULTS
Fourteen studies were included. Results evidenced that psychosocial variables play an important role on marital adjustment. Specifically, open and constructive communication, more social support, and supportive dyadic coping were found to be associated with higher levels of marital adjustment. Other variables such as self-efficacy, sexual functioning, and psychological adjustment were also positively associated with marital adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
Most studies evidenced an association between psychosocial variables and marital adjustment for both women and their partners. Some important dimensions such as communication patterns, coping strategies, and social support dynamics were identified as potential targets for psychological interventions. Some variables, however, were explored only in a few studies, which limit our conclusions. Future studies should explore the role these variables and other relational and emotional variables play in promoting marital adjustment after BC.
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Tânia
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7865-2445
T
Brandão
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Juliana
J
Pedro
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Nuno
N
Nunes
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Mariana V
MV
Martins
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Maria Emília
ME
Costa
Center for Psychology at University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Paula Mena
PM
Matos
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003142:Communication; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*
breast cancer; couple intervention; marital adjustment; oncology; systematic review