Social support and salivary cortisol in women with metastatic breast cancer

Used a cross-sectional design to examine the relationships between social support, both quantity (number of people) and quality (appraisal, belonging, tangible, and self-esteem), and neuroendocrine function (mean and slope of diurnal salivary cortisol) among women with metastatic breast cancer. 103 Ss (mean age 53.2 yrs) completed the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and the Yale Social Support Index and provided saliva samples for assessment of diurnal cortisol levels on each of 3 consecutive days. Results show that mean salivary cortisol was negatively related to the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List subscales of appraisal, belonging, and tangible social support. No association was found between quantitative support or the esteem subscale of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List and mean salivary cortisol. Measures of qualitative and quantitative social support were not associated with the diurnal cortisol slope. It is concluded that greater quality of social support is associated with lower cortisol concentrations in women with metastatic breast cancer, which is indicative of healthier neuroendocrine functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).