Relations of Mindfulness and Illness Acceptance With Psychosocial Functioning in Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer and Caregivers.
Kelly Chinh, Ekin Secinti, Shelley A Johns and 8 others
PMID 33063774WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers' nonjudging, acting with awareness, and acceptance were linked to better relationship quality for both.
Patients' and caregivers' own mindfulness and acceptance were linked to less anxiety and depression, but not their partner's.
Key findings
01Caregivers' nonjudging and acting with awareness were associated with higher relationship quality for both caregiver and patient, and caregiver illness acceptance was associated with higher patient-rated relationship quality.
02Patients' and caregivers' own nonjudging, acting with awareness, and illness acceptance showed links to lower anxiety or depressive symptoms in the person reporting them, but not in the partner.
03Nonreactivity showed little association with relationship quality, anxiety, or depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis used baseline data only, so it cannot show that mindfulness or acceptance caused better functioning. The study was small, with 33 dyads, and the authors describe the parent work as a pilot, so statistical power was limited. All information came from self-report, with no behavioral or independent assessment. The sample was primarily White and college-educated, all patients were women, and about half of caregivers were men and spouses or partners, so results may not apply to other groups. Patients were recruited for an intervention trial and had to have moderate to severe symptoms, which may make them different from other patients with metastatic breast cancer. The authors could not analyze the data by relationship type.
Declared interests
No author conflict-of-interest declaration appears in the supplied text. The article metadata lists research support from N.I.H. extramural and non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these links as proof that mindfulness or acceptance improves anxiety, depression, or relationships. The data are cross-sectional baseline reports from a small dyadic sample, so they cannot show cause, and no mindfulness intervention was tested here.