Interpersonal Communication and Coping with Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Theoretical Review of the Literature

摘要

Communication with close relational partners is significantly associated with how individuals cope with and adjust to the stress of cancer. Studies across multiple disciplines have investigated connections among interpersonal communication behaviors (e.g., disclosure and support), coping strategies (e.g., acceptance and denial), and psychological adjustment (e.g., depression and anxiety). However, there has not yet been a systematic review of this body of work until now. We conducted a comprehensive, integrative theoretical review of 116 research articles and summarized how interpersonal communication and coping tend to be (a) conceptualized, and (b) theoretically linked in terms of causality. Forty percent of studies were grounded explicitly in theory. Three types of underlying theoretical foundations were identified, with two being most prominent in the literature.