1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The main objective of this study was to determine whether the public stigma surrounding depression has an impact on physiological and psychological markers of stress in spouses and children from families in which one parent suffers from cancer or depression.» (p. 1825) «The second objective was to determine whether caregiver burden (i.e., MDD [major depressive disorder] and cancer) has an impact on physiological and psychological markers of stress above and beyond those of stigma related to depression.» (p. 1826)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «predicted that spouses and children of patients
suffering from MDD would present more externalized and internalized stigma than spouses and children of patients suffering from cancer, and that the former group would present higher scores on measures of disability and burden.» (p. 1825-1826) The authors also «predicted that psychological and physiological markers of stress would be greater in spouses and children of the MDD and cancer groups when compared to the control group. It was also predicted that the correlation between spouses’ subjective stress and cortisol levels in their children would be greater in the MDD and cancer groups, when compared to the control group, and that it would be greater in the MDD group when compared to the cancer group (spillover effects of parental stress on children).» (p. 1826)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Participants recruited for this study included spouses and children of individuals with a first or recurrent episodes of MDD (adult onset), spouses and children of patients with cancer (breast or digestive), and parents and children of individuals with no physical or mental health problems.» (p. 1826) «In order to recruit families with a parent suffering from cancer, [the authors] teamed up with the oncology department of the Hôpital Maisonneuve Rosemont in Montreal, one of the largest oncology departments in Montreal, and worked weekly with the medical team to approach families. For the families with a parent suffering from depression, [the authors] teamed up with the Montreal Mental Health Foundation and the Montreal Mental Health University Institute and gave numerous public conferences to recruit families.» (p. 1826) «The sample included 94 families, for a total of 269 participants […].» (p. 1826)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The authors «first showed that both spouses and offspring from families with parental depression presented greater externalized stigma toward depression when compared to spouses and children from families with parental cancer. Interestingly, the increased levels of externalized stigma in spouses and children from families with parental depression were not shown to be internalized […].» (p. 1831) Also, «[s]pouses from families with parental depression reported significantly greater work/family stress when compared to parents/spouses from families with parental cancer and the control groups.» (p. 1831) «Interestingly, and although cancer may necessitate more visits to the hospital than depression, the spouses from the parental cancer group did not present greater scores on the work/family stress subscale when compared to the control group. This result suggests that the nature of work/family stress reported by the spouses of individuals with depression may be more closely related to the familial environment and the fair share of the family chores, than related to the burden and time spent associated with the treatment of the disorder.» (p. 1832)