No abstract

African American men experience worse prostate cancer outcomes compared with those of Caucasian men, not only in incidence and mortality rates, but also in coping with the side effects of treatment. Unfortunately, African American men have been significantly under-represented in research evaluating the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for improving coping in prostate cancer survivors.This pilot study explored the feasibility and efficacy of coping skills training (CST), an intervention developed to enhance coping with treatment side effects in a sample of African American prostate cancer survivors and their intimate partners. The intervention was delivered in a telephone-based format designed to facilitate research participation. A total of 40 couples were randomized to either 6 sessions of CST or usual care. Survivors completed measures of disease-specific quality of life (QOL) related to urinary, sexual, bowel, and hormonal symptom domains, as well as measures of global QOL (i.e., physical functioning and mental health). Partners completed measures of caregiver strain, mood, and vigor.Analysis of data from 30 couples (12 couples in CST, 18 couples in usual care) indicated that CST produced moderate to large treatment effects for QOL related to bowel, urinary, sexual, and hormonal symptoms. Partners who underwent CST reported less caregiver strain, depression, and fatigue, and more vigor, with moderate effect sizes observed that approached conventional levels of statistical significance. These preliminary findings suggest that telephonebased CST is a feasible approach that can successfully enhance coping in African American prostate cancer survivors and their intimate partners.

Sex, race/ethnic, and age differences in pain have been reported in clinical and experimental research. Gender role expectations have partly explained the variability in sex differences in pain, and the Gender Role Expectations of Pain questionnaire (GREP) was developed to measure sex-related stereotypic attributions about pain. It is hypothesized that similar expectations exist for age and race-related pain decisions. This study investigated new measures of race/ethnic- and age-related stereotypic attributions of pain sensitivity and willingness to report pain, and examined the psychometric properties of a modified GREP. Participants completed the Race/Ethnicity Expectations of Pain questionnaire, Age Expectations of Pain questionnaire, and modified GREP. Results revealed a 3-factor solution to the race/ethnicity questionnaire and a 2-factor solution to the age questionnaire, consistent with theoretical construction of the items. Results revealed a 4-factor solution to the modified GREP that differed from the original GREP and theoretical construction of the items. Participants’ pain-related stereotypic attributions differed across racial/ethnic, age, and gender groups. These findings provide psychometric support for the measures examined herein and suggest that stereotypic attributions of pain in others differ across demographic categories. Future work can refine the measures and examine whether select demographic variables influence pain perception, assessment, and/or treatment.