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At least 433 records · Page 24Linked to original sources

Effects of sex, parental status, and spouse work involvement in dual-career couples.

This study examined the effects of sex, parental status, and spouse's work involvement on measures of work-family experiences. Data were collected from women and men employed in similar jobs at the same organizational level in a large professional services firm using anonymously completed questionnaires. A response rate of 70% was achieved. Spouses of men worked fewer hours per week than the men did; spouses of women worked more hours per week than the women did. The effects of three independent variables (sex, presence of children, hours worked by spouse) were considered simultaneously. Each had independent and significant relationships with a majority of the work-family and work outcome measures. Implications for organizations are drawn to address the increasing priority of balancing work and family commitments in dual-career couples.

Adult↗

Living with a male with noise-induced hearing loss: experiences from the perspective of spouses.

The aim of this inductive study was to describe, from the perspective of the spouses, their experiences of living close to a male with severe noise-induced hearing loss. An additional aim was to generate the first step of a theory of how these spouses managed their daily life. The study sample consisted of 10 strategically selected females who differed in age, educational status, number of children and years of marital relationship. Verbatim transcribed thematized interviews were analysed according to a method influenced by the constant comparative method for grounded theory. Two main variables, or core concepts, were identified: the husband's reluctance to acknowledge hearing difficulties and the impact of hearing loss on the intimate relationship. Combinations of these main variables were related to four qualitatively different strategies used by the spouses: co-acting, minimizing, mediating and distancing strategies. It is suggested that the type of strategy chosen by the spouse influences the outcome of the audiological rehabilitation.

Activities of Daily Living↗

[Personality features of spouses married to depressive partners].

30 married couples in which one spouse was hospitalized with a diagnosis of depressive syndrome testified by psychological tests (ACL, MPI, STAI, Self-perception Sheet, Zung SRDS) were examined. Taking into account the literature concerned with the role of improperly functioning couples, the author of the study tried to determine the influence of the healthy spouse's personal character and his/her patterns of behavior on their ill partners. It was found out that the mechanism of the relationship is different depending whether the patient is a wife or a husband. The healthy spouse's mental balance had a positive influence on the patients, independently of sex. A higher level of symptoms and depressive behavior of men was connected with good functioning and adaptation of their wives. On the other hand, the women were having more depressive symptoms if their husbands were submissive and emotionally unstable. It might be connected with the ill spouse's feeling of failing as a wife or husband. The findings may be important for the family therapy of depressed people.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Ineligible spouses of SSI beneficiaries, December 1976.

A study based on program records showd that about 200,000 persons receiving supplemental security income (SSI) payments in December 1976 were living with a spouse who was not eligible for payments. In most cases, the beneficiaries were disabled and the spouses were too young to be eligible. Some spouses were receiving help indirectly from the program through the essential-person increment, State supplementary payments, or the deeming-of-income provision. Fewer than half the spouses had income of their own, however, and even when the income of both partners was combined, 55,000 households had no income other than the SSI payment. A sizable number of families included dependent children and thus may have been eligible for aid to families with dependent children.

Aged↗

The spouse: a factor in recovery after acute myocardial infarction.

Literature supports the concept that the response of a patient's spouse influences the recovery process of a patient after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This was a 6-month, longitudinal, descriptive study of 17 married couples in which one of the pair experienced his or her first AMI. The study examined the question: "Is there a relationship between the spouse's social support, family stress, marital satisfaction, and sexual comfort and the patient's recovery after AMI?" Data were collected at three times during the 6-month period after AMI. Results showed a significant relationship between the spouse's family stress, marital satisfaction, and sexual comfort and the patient's recovery. Also, a significant relationship was found between the spouse's sexual comfort and marital satisfaction. This was the first reported study that examined sexual comfort over time and investigated sexual activities other than intercourse.

Adult↗

Stress experience of spouses of patients having coronary artery bypass during hospitalization and 6 weeks after discharge.

The purpose of this study was to describe stress process variables in spouses of patients having coronary artery bypass surgery during hospitalization (T1) and 6 weeks after discharge (T2). Problems and concerns of spouses at T1 and T2 and spouse perceptions of nurse support were also addressed. Eighty-six women participated in the study at T1 and 67 women participated at T2. Data were collected by self-report instruments and open-ended questions. Women reported an average number of family life changes and high levels of social support at T1 and T2. Women perceived their husband's illness severity at the extreme end of the continuum at T1 and T2. Physical and mental symptoms of stress were high at T1 but significantly less at T2. Marital quality was average at T1 but significantly less at T2. Hospital environment, lack of information, and family members were frequently reported to make hospitalization more difficult. Husband's self-care activities, uncertainty, and husband's physical and mental symptoms were concerns that spouses frequently reported at T2.

Adult↗

Impact of cardiac transplantation on the spouse's life.

The purpose of this research was to explore the effect of waiting for heart transplantation and the effect of the transplantation on the life, relationship, and reported stress of the patient's spouse. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The impact of both the pretransplant (waiting) and posttransplant periods was measured by using the Perception of Heart Transplantation Questionnaire (PHTQ) and the Subjective Stress Scale (SSS). Thirty spouses of patients who had undergone cardiac transplantation completed the mailed questionnaires. Results indicated that spouses perceived the pretransplant period to have a greater overall influence on their lives and relationships (p less than 0.001) than did the posttransplant period. Their impression of the posttransplant period was significantly more positive than of the pretransplant period (p less than 0.001). However, no significant differences between pretransplant and posttransplant stress scores were found. These results demonstrate the great impact of the waiting period on the spouse's quality of life. Additional research is needed.

Adult↗

Spouses and children of disabled elders: how large a constituency for long-term care reform?

Over 13 million adults in the United States have disabled elderly parents or spouses and are potential providers of long-term care, financial assistance, or emotional support. Articles in the popular press notwithstanding, data from the 1984 National Long-term Care Survey indicate that a relatively small number of adult children and spouses assume the multiple responsibilities of elder care and child care or employment. These individuals form a subset of a much larger group of 4.2 million persons, however, who care for disabled parents or spouses. Current and future availability of spouses and children need to be considered in estimating the demand for formal long-term care and the costs of public programs.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Spouses' body image changes during and after pregnancy: a replication and extension.

This longitudinal study replicated and extended an investigation of the relation between spouses' strength of identification and similarities in their patterns of change in body image components during and after pregnancy. The sample included 54 married couples. The results did not duplicate previous study findings of similarity in spouses' patterns of change in perceived body space. There were statistically significant changes in wives' perceived body space scores from the third month of pregnancy to the second postpartal month, but no changes in the husbands' perceived body space scores. Results upheld previous study findings of no relationship between spouses' strength of identification and similarities in their patterns of change in perceived body space. No changes were detected in either wives' or husbands' global body attitude scores, nor was there evidence of a relationship between spouses' strength of identification and similarity in their patterns of change in global body attitude.

Adult↗

Lymphocytotoxic antibodies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and their spouses--evidence for a transmissible agent.

Serum lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCA) were detected in twenty-seven out of fifty-three (51%) patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in twenty-three out of their fifty-three (43%) unaffected spouses. The prevalence of LCA in both groups was significantly increased (P less than 0.001) compared to that in age- and sex-matched controls (11%) or in control spouses (6%). Concordant expression of LCA occurred in sixteen out of the fifty-three (30%) patient-spouse pairs compared to only one out of the fifty-three (2%) control-spouse pairs (P less than 0.001). In contrast to the LCA results, heterophile antibody titres were similarly distributed in all four study groups. It is suggested that LCA may represent markers of infectious agents in IBD and that their occurrence in unaffected close contacts of patients may indicate transmission of such agents to these subjects.

Antibodies↗

Effect of spouse support and health beliefs on medication adherence.

This study addressed the issue of social support for patients' adherence to medical regimens. Social support of wives was assessed by structured interview of 150 male participants in the Coronary Primary Prevention Trial, their wives, and medical staff. In addition, wives were interviewed about their beliefs related to their husbands' health and participation in the trial. Unobtrusive packet counts were used as the measure of adherence. The participants were classified as having high spouse support if wife support scores were in the top one third of the distribution and as having low spouse support if scores were in the bottom one third as measured from inquiry of the participant, the spouse, and the staff. The adherence of men having low support averaged 70 percent, significantly lower than the high-support group, which averaged 96 percent. The correlations between spouses' health beliefs and their level of support were significant for three of four health belief variables. In particular, highly adhering men had wives who believed more strongly in the benefits of the Coronary Primary Prevention Trial.

Adult↗

Relaxation training and psychoimmunological status of bereaved spouses. A pilot study.

The death of a family member is one of the most stressful and disruptive life events. Although the literature abounds with subjective pieces concerning bereavement, little is known about the complex biological processes that follow in its wake. However, there is a growing body of evidence that psychological distress may compromise immunocompetence and that support strategies may enhance immune function. Our exploratory study examined the influence of relaxation training on the immunological and psychological status (including anxiety and depression) of bereaved spouses. Nine female spouses, all survivors of patients who died from cancer, were recruited from two hospice programs to participate in this relaxation-training program. Standardized psychological instruments and immunological assays were completed at three data-collection points: before the initiation of the relaxation training (approximately 6 weeks after the death of the spouse); at the conclusion of the training; and 4 weeks after the relaxation training. The subjects received a 1-h relaxation-training program weekly for 4 weeks. It included progressive muscle relaxation training and guided imagery supervised by a psychiatric nurse clinical specialist. The results indicated that the relaxation-training program was well-received by the subjects, with promising psychoimmunological trends that merit more rigorous investigation. This exploratory study has demonstrated the feasibility of conducting a relaxation-training intervention for bereaved spouses and has laid the foundation for continuing research to study the physiological and psychological responses of the bereaved.

Adult↗

Spouse migration from the Indian sub-continent to the U.K.: a permanent migration stream?

"This paper will describe trends in spouse migration [from the Indian subcontinent] using the U.K. example, which is believed to be reasonably representative of other European countries. To do so, it will have to consider both the re-unification of pre-existing families of immigrants, and the migration of new spouses both of immigrants and of members of ethnic minority populations who were themselves born in the receiving country. These two streams are not entirely conceptually separate, and there is no unambiguous way of separating them in the published U.K. statistics. However, it is clear that the former stream of pre-existing family members dominated up to the 1980s and that it is now being augmented and replaced by the latter stream of new spouses."

Asia↗

Cancer among spouses: review of 195 couples.

BACKGROUND: The study of cancer in spouses may play an important role in the assessment of cancer etiology. METHODS: Patterns of occurrence of cancer in 195 couples related by marriage only and treated in a regional hospital are reported. The distribution of tumors by site was compared with national data. RESULTS: Seven sites of cancer were found to be more frequent in married couples than in the general population, in particular carcinoma of the colon (37 observed vs. 19.5 expected in husbands [relative risk (RR) = 1.89 (95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.5-2.4); P < 0.001] and 32 vs. 16.7 in wives [RR = 1.92 (95% CI, 1.4-2.5); P < 0.001]), carcinoma of the prostate (32 vs. 20 in husbands [RR = 1.6 (95% CI, 1.19-2.09); P < 0.01]), and carcinoma of the female breast (84 vs. 55 in wives [RR = 1.53 (95% CI, 1.3-1.8); P < 0.001]). Same site tumors were observed in 13 couples versus 6.21 expected in the general population (RR = 2.09 [95% CI, 1.25-3.26]; P < 0.01). A combination of carcinoma of the prostate and female breast sites was found in 18 couples versus 5.4 expected in the general population (RR = 3.34 [95% CI, 2.19-4.84]; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of cancer sites among spouses in those families in which both spouses have developed a cancer differs from that of the general population. These differences may be caused by shared risk factors. Increased awareness can explain only part of the excess.

Age Factors↗

Validity of occupational exposure and smoking data obtained from surviving spouses and colleagues.

The accuracy of exposure data from surrogate sources such as spouses and colleagues was estimated in an historical cohort of 10,059 metal workers. In a 2 year period from 1986 to 1988, 118 subjects who, in 1986, answered a questionnaire on occupational exposures and smoking habits had died. In 1988 spouses and long-term colleagues were interviewed on the same items. Separate contingency tables were developed comparing case and spouse/colleague responses. Percentage of concordance, sensitivity, specificity, the kappa measure of agreement, and a bias factor (exposed to nonexposed ratio between surrogates and cohort members) were calculated. Compared with the index subjects indications, the colleagues' and spouses' reports represented a moderately high level of concordance on occupational exposures, primarily for exposures with a moderate prevalence. There was a considerable under-reporting on both occupational exposures and smoking habits expressed in low values of sensitivity and bias factor values below one. The described misclassification of exposure data by using surrogate information might seriously influence the risk estimation and introduce bias.

Asbestos↗

Comprehension of information for informed consent by spouses of surgical patients.

The adequacy of comprehension of the information needed for informed consent to participate in research on spouse responses to a husband's or wife's general surgery was assessed. Comprehension of information about the research study by 75 spouses was measured by the Informed Consent Questionnaire containing questions on study purpose, time involvement, nature of participation, risks, benefits, voluntariness, confidentiality, and anonymity. The result showed that 72 of the 75 spouses had adequate comprehension of the information for informed consent. Because adequate comprehension is atypical of most studies, possible reasons for this unexpected result are discussed and then explained within a self-determination theory of informed consent.

Comprehension↗

Clinical strategies in recognizing spouse abuse.

Physicians have developed an increased sensitivity to the recognition and management of spouse abuse. Examined are clinical data and research which will enhance the physician's assessment of spouse abuse. Specific criteria useful in diagnosis and strategies helpful in the assessment process are discussed. Addressed are psychological factors involved in the adaptation process, and the possible long-term effects on the victim are discussed. The role of family physicians and other subspecialties is explored within the context of the recognition and management of spouse abuse.

Affective Symptoms↗

Spouse encouragement of self-reliance and other-reliance in rheumatoid arthritis couples.

Studying and helping couples burdened with a major life stressor such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be enhanced by employing well-understood conceptual and empirical frameworks, in our research person/environment fit (P x E) models. We measured P x E effects in a sample of 62 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with locus of control beliefs, age, and the health status of the subjects as the Person variables and their spouses' control encouragement as the Environment variable. As predicted, externals were most sensitive to their spouses' behavior. Health status and age moderated the effects of the subjects' control beliefs and spouses' control efforts. Control encouragement showed positive benefits, but only for the younger and healthier subjects; it was related to increased psychological distress for externals in poorer health. Although many models of therapy suggest the benefits of increasing personal control, these data suggest the necessity of employing a more complex model integrating both person and social environment variables in understanding mental health.

Activities of Daily Living↗