[Subjective theories on luck and quality of life--results of explorative interviews with 65- to 74-year-old probands]. / Subjektive Theorien zu Glück und Lebensqualität--Ergebnisse explorativer Interviews mit 65- bis 74jährigen.

Following a subject-centred perspective in the research of happiness we asked N = 26 subjects aged 65 to 74 years in semistructured interviews about their subjective theories on happiness and quality of life (QOL) (subjective contents of the terms; description of a happy person; open wishes; causal attributions; control beliefs). Content analyses resulted in 28 categories that are united into 5 domains (personal resources, social resources and interaction, activity, material and environmental resources, abstract definitions). Particular aspects in content that have not yet been reported in the literature can be interpreted as notions of happiness and QOL specific to the elderly. Differences between the subjective concepts of "happiness" versus "QOL" are described. Ratings of semantic distance between the concepts "happiness", "QOL", "satisfaction", and "health" are analysed by multidimensional scaling. According to that, subjective representations of "happiness" and "QOL" vary markedly.

Family support and coping with cancer: some determinants and adaptive correlates.

This paper studies the interrelationships between the coping behaviours of cancer patients and perceived amount and adequacy of family support, as well as the issue of how these predict psychosocial adjustment to cancer. Based on questionnaire data from a sample of 169 patients with cancers of various sites, three questions were considered in detail: (1) How might cognitive and behavioural modes of coping with cancer affect perceptions of support provided by one's family in terms of the amount as well as adequacy of various supportive acts? (2) Are coping modes to be considered when explaining inter-individual differences in perceived support adequacy, or can these differences be reduced to differences in amount of support? (3) Can distinct patterns of family support and coping preferences be identified and, if so, how do these patterns differ in indicators of psychosocial adjustment to cancer? Results suggest that cognitive strategies of coping may be more effective in 'mobilizing' family support than behavioural strategies. Moreover, the perceived adequacy of various support modes proves to be influenced by cognitive coping preferences independent of perceived amounts of support. Finally, results from cluster analyses point to a particular coping-support pattern identified as 'highly risky'. This pattern is characterized by generalized support deficits, strong tendencies towards rumination, and weak tendencies towards minimizing disease-related threat. The findings are discussed from an interactional perspective on support processes and with regard to implications for psychological intervention in cancer patients.

Sex-specific effects of social support on cortisol and subjective responses to acute psychological stress.

The effects of short-term social support on cortisol levels and subjective responses to acute psychological stress were investigated in healthy adults (total N = 66). In anticipation of a public-speaking task in front of an audience, subjects received either no social support ("no support") or social support from an opposite-sex stranger ("stranger") or from their boyfriend or girlfriend ("partner"). Support providers were instructed to enact both instrumental and emotional support during the 10-minute anticipation period. The results obtained suggest sex-specific effects of social support. Although men in the partner support condition showed significant attenuation of cortisol responses compared with unsupported and stranger-supported men, women showed no response decrement under stranger support. In contrast to men, women showed a tendency toward increased cortisol responses when supported by their boyfriends. The endocrine response differences between male and female subjects were unrelated to questionnaire-derived psychological variables. No sex and group differences in perceived stress, mood changes, or social desirability were observed. Although the overall level of subjective well-being throughout the experiment was elevated in the partner support condition, no sex or group differences were observed in perceived stress, well-being changes, and social desirability. Opposite to their cortisol responses, women rated both stranger and partner support attempts more favorably than did men. No significant correlations were observed between the perceived stressfulness of the situation, mood changes, and cortisol responses. These results provide preliminary evidence for sex-specific patterns of social support efficacy to acute psychological stress with respect to adrenocortical responses.