Understanding the relational processes of Turkish couples before and after a breast cancer experience

Abstract

Cancer is a life threatening illness which has effects on both individual and relational levels. The present study aims to understand the intrapersonal and interpersonal relational processes obtaining in a sample of Turkish breast cancer survivors' and their male partners' before and after the cancer experience. The present study employed the Family Systems Illness Model and the Intimacy Model of Relational Competence Theory as the analytical frame.11 heterosexual couples; 11 female breast cancer survivors and 11 male partners between the ages of 30-65 and from middle to upper SES levels participated in this study. Each participant was interviewed individually and face to face, using a semi structured interview format developed by the researcher. The interviews were coded in accordance with a Grounded Theory approach using MaxQDA12 Data Analysis Software. The core couple categories to emerge from this qualitative study were; harmonious/responsive relational processes which was named as "being we" couples, conflictual relational processes which was named as "never feeling as we" couples and a transition from conflictual relational processes to more harmonious/responsive ones as a result of the cancer experience which was named as "becoming we" couples. Thus the study findings indicated three different relational processes that reflect three different courses of development for the participants.