Emotion Regulation and Psychological Well-Being among Cancer Caregiver–Patient Dyads
A cancer diagnosis reorganizes more than medical care; it reshapes the emotional and relational landscape of families and caregiving relationships. Daily routines shift, roles are renegotiated, and both patient and caregiver must navigate uncertainty together. In this context, emotional well-being is not solely an individual process. It unfolds within a dyadic system in which each partner’s efforts to manage distress can influence the other’s mental health and the quality of the relationship.
In the MRI-funded project Emotion Regulation and Psychological Well-Being among Cancer Caregiver–Patient Dyads, Dr. William Tsai (New York University) advances a relational model of emotion regulation in the context of serious illness. The project centers on interpersonal emotion regulation, defined as the ways individuals influence their own or others’ emotional states within close relationships. In caregiver–patient dyads, interpersonal emotion regulation strategies may include shared positive activities, expressions of gratitude, reassurance, or attempts to elevate a partner’s mood during periods of heightened stress.
The study examines whether these interpersonal regulatory efforts predict depressive symptoms, anxiety, and perceived relationship quality for both members of the dyad. Approximately 175 caregiver–patient pairs are recruited through online outreach and partnerships with cancer support organizations. Participants complete surveys at baseline, three months, and six months, enabling prospective modeling of emotional and relational trajectories across the early phases of treatment and adaptation.
Analytically, the project employs the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) within a structural equation modeling framework. This approach allows estimation of actor effects, in which a person’s interpersonal emotion regulation predicts their own psychological outcomes, as well as partner effects, in which one individual’s strategies predict their partner’s outcomes. The study also examines the moderating role of communal motivation, or the tendency to prioritize a partner’s welfare, to determine whether relationally oriented coping enhances resilience or contributes to emotional depletion under sustained stress.
By applying emotion regulation theory to longitudinal dyadic data from cancer patients and caregivers, this project illuminates how interpersonal processes dynamically shape adjustment over time in the context of chronic illness. The translational implications are direct: identifying relational processes that promote mutual well-being can inform early interventions for patients and caregivers. Findings may guide the development of communication tools, psychoeducational resources, and community-based workshops that support couples in navigating emotional demands together.
In reframing cancer coping as a dyadic regulatory process, this work highlights how small, intentional emotional exchanges can accumulate into meaningful differences in psychological adjustment and relationship strength over time.