Patients’ sense of relationship with breast cancer surgeons: The relative importance of surgeon and patient variability and the influence of patients’ attachment style

Pegman, Sarah; Beesley, Helen; Holcombe, Christopher; Mendick, Nicola; Salmon, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.pec.2010.04.023

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It is, however, in keeping with previous research in this field which shows a link between the models of attachment of breast cancer patients and these patients' perceptions of support in their relationships with treating clinicians. Both Clark et al (2010) and Pegman et al (2011) reported that patients with breast cancer with more positive models of 'self' reported higher levels of support from their doctors than did those with less positive *Significant at P < 0Á05. **Significant at P < 0Á01.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In breast cancer, patient attachment has been found to have a small but statistically significant influence on both alliance with and perceived support from surgeons (Clark et al 2010, Pegman et al 2011, with greater alliance and perceived support associated with positive, relative to negative, attachment models. Other clinicians, such as nurses, however, also play key roles in providing care and theoretically fit the requirements of attachment figures.…”

Section: Attachment and Perceptions Of Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these, 163 agreed to participate. Data were collected using several self-report questionnaires, all of which had previously been used for research in breast cancer (Salmon et al 2006, 2007, Clark et al 2010, Pegman et al 2011. A total of 133 participants completed questionnaire booklets in the hospital and 33 took them home to complete.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study needed a way to measure attachment that was: suitable for adult non-romantic relationships; able to generate data consistent with a dimensional approach to attachment; and relatively quick to complete in a busy outpatient clinic. The Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and the Relationship Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), which have been used in previous studies of hospital outpatients, including those with breast cancer ( (Ciechanowski et al 2002c, Clark et al 2010, Pegman et al 2011) met these criteria. The RQ comprises four items, each describing an attachment style formed from the combination of positive or negative models of 'self' and 'other'.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This explores three aspects of the alliance between patient and clinician; sense of agreement on goals and tasks and perception of interpersonal bond. Initially developed to assess alliance between client and therapist, this measure has been adapted for use in healthcare research (Fuertes et al 2007, Pegman et al 2011. It comprises twelve items, used here to examine the patient-nurse relationship.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Are patient–nurse relationships in breast cancer linked to adult attachment style?

Harding

Beesley

Holcombe

et al. 2015

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Attachment and Perceptions Of Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Are patient–nurse relationships in breast cancer linked to adult attachment style?

Harding

Beesley

Holcombe

et al. 2015

Journal of Advanced Nursing

Self Cite

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show abstract

When trust is threatened: Qualitative study of parents' perspectives on problematic clinical relationships in child cancer care

2017

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ObjectiveWe explored parents' accounts of the parent‐clinician relationship in childhood cancer to understand how parents who perceive threats to the relationship can be supported.MethodsMulticentre longitudinal qualitative study, with 67 UK parents of children (aged 1‐12 years) receiving treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Analyses drew on the wider sample but focussed on 50 semistructured interviews with 20 parents and were informed by constant comparison.ResultsAll 20 parents described problems with clinical care such as inadequate information or mistakes by staff but varied in how much the problems threatened their sense of relationship with clinicians. Some parents saw the problems as having no relevance to the parent‐clinician relationship. Others saw the problems as threats to the clinical relationship but worked to “contain” the threat in ways that preserved a trusting relationship with at least one senior clinician. Parents' containment work protected the security they needed from the parent‐clinician relationship, but containment was a tenuous process for some. A few parents were unable to contain the problems at all; lacking trust in clinicians, these parents suffered considerably.ConclusionsGiven the complexity of childhood cancer care, problems with clinical care are inevitable. By engaging in containment work, parents met their needs to feel secure in the face of these problems, but the extent to which parents should have to do this work is debatable. Parents could benefit from support to seek help when problems arise which threaten their trust in clinicians. Attachment theory can guide clinicians in giving this support.

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Working alliance and attachment orientations in the patient‐oncologist relationship

et al. 2021

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Objective Accumulating research suggests that the working alliance (WA) is a key component in the patient–oncologist relationship. Attachment theory provides a useful framework for understanding this alliance within the oncological setting, where patients' attachment systems are often activated. This study examined the association between attachment orientations of both dyad members (i.e., patient and oncologist) and patients' WA experience. It also probed whether this link was mediated by patients' attachment‐related attitudes towards the oncologist, using a recently developed measure. Method Oncologists and their respective patients (N = 113: 103 patients, 10 oncologists) were sampled at oncological clinics. Eligible patients filled out online measures of the WA, attachment‐related attitudes, and attachment orientations. The later was also completed by oncologists. Results Structural equation modeling demonstrated that both patients' and oncologists' avoidant attachment orientation inversely predicted patients' WA experience, via patients' experience of feeling unsupported by their oncologists. Conclusions Findings suggest that attributes of both members of the patient–oncologist dyad are related to patients' WA experience, and that attachment‐related attitudes towards oncologists occur within this relationship. Oncologists' understanding of patients' unique attachment behaviors, as well as their own such behaviors, could improve cancer patients' quality of care and illness outcomes. Results represent another step forward in fully exploring whether oncologists can serve as attachment figures for their patients.

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Patients’ sense of relationship with breast cancer surgeons: The relative importance of surgeon and patient variability and the influence of patients’ attachment style

Cited by 19 publications

References 29 publications

Are patient–nurse relationships in breast cancer linked to adult attachment style?

Are patient–nurse relationships in breast cancer linked to adult attachment style?

When trust is threatened: Qualitative study of parents' perspectives on problematic clinical relationships in child cancer care

Working alliance and attachment orientations in the patient‐oncologist relationship

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