Effects of an Interpersonal Counseling Intervention on Interdependence of Symptoms in Cancer Survivor-Informal Caregiver Dyads

Background: Cancer survivors and their caregivers can experience interdependent symptoms. Aims: The objective of this research was to determine if participation in a telephone delivered interpersonal counseling intervention, compared to an educational intervention, increases observed dyadic interdependence in depression, anxiety, and other symptoms in cancer survivors and their informal caregivers. Method: A dyadic sample of survivors in treatment for solid tumor cancers and their caregivers participated in a 17-week sequential multiple assignment trial of symptom management interventions. Participants completed weekly measures of depression, anxiety, and other symptoms. Initially, all survivors and caregivers received a Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook (SMSH) intervention. Survivors who still had unresolved depression or anxiety symptoms after 4 weeks were randomized with their caregivers to continue with SMSH alone or add a telephone interpersonal counseling (TIPC) intervention for the next 8 weeks (N = 87). For this sample, the lagged-dependent Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to estimate longitudinal actor and partner effects for each of the three symptom measures. Interaction terms representing intervention condition (SMSH vs. SMSH + TIPC) were entered into the models to determine if intervention moderated the observed actor or partner effects. Results: The caregiver→survivor partner effect for anxiety was significantly stronger in the SMSH + TIP arm compared to the SMSH alone arm. No other moderation effects were observed. Conclusions: Participating in the interpersonal counseling intervention as an addition to an educational intervention delivered to both members of a survivor-caregiver dyad does not appear to affect dyadic interdependence in symptoms other than anxiety.