Jason E. Owen

Supportive care needs in patients with lung cancer.

Introduction: The goal of this study was to characterize the prevalence and intensity of supportive care needs and interest in specific supportive care services among individuals with lung cancer.

Latent growth models of the longitudinal effects of dementia caregiving: A comparison of African American and White family caregivers

Self-report measures of depression, physical health symptoms, and life satisfaction were collected over a 2-year period from 197 family caregivers of dementia patients and 218 noncaregivers (controls). Latent growth models were used to compare changes across time for African American and White caregivers, with gender, age, and socioeconomic status serving as covariates. Results indicated that White caregivers sustained higher levels of elevated depression and decreasing life satisfaction over time compared with African American caregivers. Both groups of caregivers reported increases in physical symptoms over time. These results indicate worsening difficulties over time for many White caregivers. African American caregivers show more resilience on measures of depression and life satisfaction but are still vulnerable to increases in physical symptoms over time. Implications for additional research and clinical intervention are discussed.

Evaluating the Validity of Computerized Content Analysis Programs for Identification of Emotional Expression in Cancer Narratives.

Psychological interventions provide linguistic data that are particularly useful for testing mechanisms of action and improving intervention methodologies. For this study, emotional expression in an Internet-based intervention for women with breast cancer (n = 63) was analyzed via rater coding and 2 computerized coding methods (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count [LIWC] and Psychiatric Content Analysis and Diagnosis [PCAD]). Although the computerized coding methods captured most of the emotion identified by raters (LIWC sensitivity = .88; PCAD sensitivity = .83), both over-identified emotional expression (LIWC positive predictive value = .31; PCAD positive predictive value = .19). Correlational analyses suggested better convergent and discriminant validity for LIWC. The results highlight previously unrecognized deficiencies in commonly used computerized content-analysis programs and suggest potential modifications to both programs that could improve overall accuracy of automated identification of emotional expression. Although the authors recognize these limitations, they conclude that LIWC is superior to PCAD for rapid identification of emotional expression in text. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

Use of the Internet for Information and Support: Disclosure Among Persons With Breast and Prostate Cancer

The present study examined the feasibility of evaluating online communication of cancer patients using an automated content analysis program modified for application to cancer-related communication. Public messages posted to the Breast Cancer Discussion List and the Prostate Problems Mailing List were content analyzed using an augmented version of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to evaluate communication styles within these two cancer types. Breast cancer patients were more likely to submit multiple messages to the list and made greater use of words related to emotional disclosure and cognitive processing compared with prostate cancer patients. Prostate cancer patients were less likely to seek emotional support or repeated interaction with other patients, and more of their communication focused on cancer-related information. Use of cancer-specific word libraries significantly increased word identification within these samples. Content analysis of online communication appears to be a promising method for detecting communication differences among subgroups of cancer patients.

A Locus for Autosomal Recessive Hypodontia with Associated Dental Anomalies Maps to Chromosome 16q12.1

We sincerely thank the family members who participated in this study. The Pakistan Science Foundation provided the support necessary for M.A. to visit the family members. This work was supported, in part, by National Institutes of Health–National Human Genome Research Institute grant HG-00008 (to J.O.) and by a grant from the National Institutes of Health–National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Skin Disease Research Center (to J.O. and A.M.C.).

Pain in long-term adult survivors of childhood cancers and their siblings: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Summary Adult survivors of childhood cancer experience increased risk for reporting a pain condition and for using prescription analgesics compared to a sibling control group. ABSTRACT Little is known about pain among long‐term adult survivors of childhood cancers. The study investigated pain prevalence in this population compared with sibling controls and examined pain‐related risk factors. Three self‐reported pain outcomes including pain conditions, prescription analgesics used, and pain attributed to cancer and treatment were assessed among 10,397 cancer survivors and 3034 sibling controls from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Pain conditions (pain/abnormal sensation, migraines, and other headaches) were reported by 12.3%, 15.5%, and 20.5% of survivors, respectively; 16.7% of survivors reported use of prescription analgesics, and 21% attributed pain to cancer and treatment. Risks of reporting pain conditions and using prescription analgesics were higher among survivors than siblings, adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Younger age at diagnosis and a history of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, Wilms tumor, or neuroblastoma (compared to leukemia) were associated with greater risk of reporting pain conditions. A history of bone cancer or soft tissue sarcoma (compared to leukemia) was associated with greater risks of using prescription analgesics and cancer‐related pain attribution. Non‐brain‐directed scatter irradiation was associated with elevated risk for migraines and cancer‐related pain attribution. Female gender and lower educational attainment were associated with increased reports of all 3 pain outcomes; minority status, unemployment, and being single were associated with greater risks for reporting pain conditions. These findings contribute to the understanding of pain and associated risk factors among adult survivors of childhood cancer and suggest areas of focus for pain intervention.

Toward a cancer-specific model of psychological distress: population data from the 2003-2005 National Health Interview Surveys.

IntroductionPopulation-based estimates of emotional distress in cancer survivors are lacking, and little is known about specific correlates of clinically meaningful distress.MethodsCombined 2003–2005 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) data were analyzed to evaluate differences in non-somatic distress (measured using the Kessler 6) for those with a history of cancer, those with other chronic health conditions, and healthy adults.ResultsThe prevalence of clinically meaningful distress was higher in cancer survivors (5.7%) than those with other health conditions (4.3%) or healthy adults (0.7%). In multivariate models, the strongest correlates of serious distress were younger age, lower educational attainment, lack of health insurance coverage, being unmarried, and having pain, fair/poor health status, or other comorbid conditions. While predictors of distress overlapped considerably between those with cancer and other chronic health conditions, having a history of cancer significantly magnified the effects of age, number of children and elders in the household, and access to health insurance on distress.Discussions/ConclusionsThe impact of psychological distress is more severe in those with cancer than those living with other chronic health conditions. Those at greatest risk appear to be those with fewer resources to manage their illness.Implications for cancer survivorsIdentifying and understanding correlates of clinically meaningful distress may improve efforts to prevent, identify, and treat significant distress in cancer survivors.

Self-Report and Linguistic Indicators of Emotional Expression in Narratives as Predictors of Adjustment to Cancer

Emotional expression and cognitive efforts to adapt to cancer have been linked to better psychological adjustment. However, little is known about the relationship between linguistic indicators of emotional and cognitive coping efforts and corresponding self-report measures of related constructs. In this study, we sought to evaluate the interrelationships between self-reports of emotional suppression and linguistic indicators of emotional and cognitive coping efforts in those living with cancer. Seventy-one individuals attending a community cancer support group completed measures of emotional suppression and mood disturbance and provided a written narrative describing their cancer experience. Self-reports of emotional suppression were associated with more rather than less distress. Although linguistic indicators of both emotional expression and cognitive processing were generally uncorrelated with self-report measures of emotional suppression and mood disturbance, a significant interaction was observed between emotional suppression and use of cognitive words on mood disturbance. Among those using higher levels of emotional suppression, increasing use of cognitive words was associated with greater levels of mood disturbance. These findings have implications for a) the therapeutic use of emotion in psychosocial interventions and b) the use of computer-assisted technologies to conduct content analysis.

Benefits and challenges experienced by professional facilitators of online support groups for cancer survivors

Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to identify specific strengths and challenges of facilitating online cancer support groups relative to face‐to‐face groups through the use of deductive qualitative analysis. A secondary aim was to quantitatively validate the identified strengths and challenges.

End of Life Care and Reactions to Death in African-American and White Family Caregivers of Relatives with Alzheimer's Disease

Family caregivers for relatives with Alzheimers Disease (AD) often experience significant stress-related problems in mental and physical health. Patients with AD often survive for protracted periods of time, placing an extensive burden of care on the caregiver prior to the patients death. The present study addresses ethnic differences in the experience of AD caregivers around the time of their loved ones death, including life-sustaining treatment decisions and reactions to death. The results showed that, in our sample, more patients died in their homes than has been reported for deaths in the United States. African-American and White caregivers differed substantially in their reports of end of life care and subjective reactions to the death. Compared with White caregivers, African-American caregivers were less likely to make a decision to withhold treatment at the time of death, less likely to have their relative die in a nursing home, and reported less acceptance of the relatives death and greater perceived loss. Results suggest that death after AD caregiving deserves further study, and that ethnic differences in end of life care and bereavement may be of particular importance.