The structure of emotional support networks in families affected by Lynch syndrome.

ABSTRACT: Genetic risk is particularly salient for families and testing for genetic conditions is necessarily a family-level process. Thus, risk for genetic disease represents a collective stressor shared by family members. According to communal coping theory, families may adapt to such risk vis-a-vis interpersonal exchange of support resources. We propose that communal coping is operationalized through the pattern of supportive relationships observed between family members. In this study, we take a social network perspective to map communal coping mechanisms to their underlying social interactions and include those who declined testing or were not at risk for Lynch Syndrome. Specifically, we examine the exchange of emotional support resources in families at risk of Lynch Syndrome, a dominantly inhe

SUBMITTER: Marcum CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7995833 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature