Typology of Family Relationships, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life in Chinese Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer

Family relationships affect psychological adjustment and quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced cancer. The typology of family relationships has not been examined in Chinese patients with advanced cancer.The aims of this study were to identify profiles of family relationships and examine their relationships with psychological distress and QoL in Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer.A total of 252 Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer at 2 hospitals in Shanghai participated in the study. They completed self-reported questionnaires. Latent profile analysis was used to identify the optimal classification of perceived family relationships based on 3 indicators (cohesiveness, expressiveness, and conflict resolution).Three profiles of family relationships were identified. The supportive profile (70.6%) showed high cohesiveness, expressiveness, and conflict resolution. The low-expressive profile (15.9%) showed low expressiveness but high cohesiveness and conflict resolution (15.9%). The conflictive profile (13.5%) showed low conflict resolution but high cohesiveness and expressiveness. Compared with supportive families, low-expressive and conflictive families were associated with worse depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, which could result in poorer QoL.Cohesiveness, expressiveness, and conflict resolution could be used to identify family relationship typology in Chinese patients with advanced lung cancer. Family relationship typology was associated with psychological distress and QoL.The findings indicate a need for screening families and provide culturally sensitive family interventions to effectively support families at risk of poor outcomes.