Natural language use and couples' adjustment to head and neck cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This multimethod prospective study examined whether emotional disclosure and coping focus as conveyed through natural language use are associated with the psychological and marital adjustment of head and neck cancer patients and their spouses.

Method

One-hundred twenty-three patients (85% men; age X¯ = 56.8 years, SD = 10.4) and their spouses completed surveys prior to, following, and 4 months after engaging in a videotaped discussion about cancer in the laboratory. Linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) software assessed counts of positive/negative emotion words and first-person singular (I-talk), second person (you-talk), and first-person plural (we-talk) pronouns. Using a grounded theory approach, discussions were also analyzed to describe how emotion words an

SUBMITTER: Badr H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5033707 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature