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At least 667 records · Page 37Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

The use of tranquilizers, hypnotics and analgesics among 18,592 Finnish adults: associations with recent interpersonal conflicts at work or with a spouse.

The use of tranquilizers, hypnotics, and analgesics was assessed by a postal questionnaire in a nationwide sample of 18,592 adults aged from 24 to 65 years: 14,800 employees, 2105 housewives and 687 unemployed persons. The use of tranquilizers was most frequent among unemployed persons whereas housewives did not use the studied medicines more than the employed women. In the multivariate analyses (adjusted for age, social class and neuroticism) unmarried status was associated with the use of tranquilizers and hypnotics among both genders. Reported recent interpersonal conflicts both at work and with a spouse were associated with the use of tranquilizers among men, whereas among women significant associations were found only for conflicts with a spouse. These results indicate that domestic factors are more likely to predict women's tranquilizer use.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Cancer and the family: strategies to assist spouses.

Research that has been conducted with spouses of cancer patients documents the nature of their stress, the duration of their stress, and the concerns that they confront over the course of the illness. A variety of intervention strategies have been used to assist spouses in dealing with the stressful effects of cancer. Two major categories of intervention strategies are providing information and offering support.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Humor and well-being in spouse caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The relationship between the use of humor and well-being was studied in a convenience sample of 96 elderly spouse caregivers of community-residing patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis and controlling for severity of illness, caregiver education, and income, the use of humor accounted for 18.2% (p < .001) of variance in caregiver well-being. Caregivers of patients with advanced AD symptoms used less humor and had more psychological distress than those caregivers of patients who had mild symptoms. Because humor helps to maintain a sense of well-being, nurses should develop and encourage the use of humor in the spouse caregiver population.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1996

Postpartum psychiatric disorders: their relationship to psychological adjustment and marital satisfaction in the spouses.

The authors examined mental health and marital quality in an index group of spouses of women with postpartum psychiatric disorders and a control group of men whose wives had recently given birth but had no such disorders. At 6 to 9 weeks postpartum, couples underwent a psychiatric interview and completed self-report measures of psychological symptoms, marital satisfaction, and changes in couple and family functioning since the birth. Index spouses reported more symptoms and had lower Global Assessment of Functioning (R. L. Spitzer, J. B. W. Williams, M. Gibbon, & M. B. First, 1990) scores than controls. Index men reported greater marital dissatisfaction and more change in household routines, recreation, and intimacy with their partners than controls.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Marital therapy and spouse involvement in the treatment of depression, agoraphobia, and alcoholism.

This article examines the literature on marital therapy and spouse involvement as treatments for major psychopathology. The focus is on three disorders that have attracted a sufficient number of empirical findings: depression, agoraphobia, and alcoholism. For each of these disorders, we first examine the relation between marital dynamics and the disorder and next discuss empirical efforts to evaluate the impact of marital therapy or spouse involvement on the disorder. In addition, we summarize trends and suggest methodological refinements for future research.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed2003

Continuing bonds and adjustment at 5 years after the death of a spouse.

Thirty-nine bereaved individuals completed the Continuing Bonds Scale (CBS), assessing various aspects of the ongoing attachment to the deceased, at 60 months postloss in a longitudinal conjugal bereavement study. They also completed symptom measures at 6, 14, 25, and 60 months postloss. Higher CBS scores were associated with a more elevated grief-specific symptom pattern over the 5-year postloss period. Moreover, those who expressed greater helplessness and less blame toward the deceased during a monologue role-play involving their deceased spouse at 6 months postloss had higher CBS scores. Finally, greater satisfaction in the past relationship with the spouse was predictive of higher CBS scores. The results were discussed in relation to existing literature on the adaptiveness of continuing bonds.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Personality in adulthood: a six-year longitudinal study of self-reports and spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory.

Previous longitudinal studies of personality in adulthood have been limited in the range of traits examined, have chiefly made use of self-reports, and have frequently included only men. In this study, self-reports (N = 983) and spouse ratings (N = 167) were gathered on the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985b), which measures all five of the major dimensions of normal personality. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses on data from men and women aged 21 to 96 years showed evidence of small declines in Activity, Positive Emotions, and openness to Actions that might be attributed to maturation, but none of these effects was replicated in sequential analyses. The 20 other scales examined showed no consistent pattern of maturational effects. In contrast, retest stability was quite high for all five dimensions in self-reports and for the three dimensions measured at both times in spouse ratings. Comparable levels of stability were seen for men and women and for younger and older subjects. The data support the position that personality is stable after age 30.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Effects of daily workload on subsequent behavior during marital interaction: the roles of social withdrawal and spouse support.

This article examines daily variability in 2 marital behaviors, social withdrawal and the expression of anger, as a function of daily taskload at work. Thirty-three air traffic controllers (ATCs) and 27 wives completed surveys on 3 consecutive days. Subjective and objective indicators of daily workload (air traffic volume and visibility at the airport) were related to the couples' descriptions of the ATCs' behavior after work. Despite a positive association between withdrawal and anger, workload seemed to influence these 2 behaviors in opposite ways. On high spouse-support evenings, work overload was associated with increased social withdrawal and less expression of anger. Social withdrawal may help an aroused individual return to a baseline emotional and physiological state. By facilitating their stressed partner's social withdrawal, supportive spouses may buffer the effects of minor daily stressors.

Anger↗
PubMed1990

Social support and immune function among spouses of cancer patients.

This study investigated whether social support was related to immune function among spouses of cancer patients. Effects of depression and negative life events were examined as potential mediators. Results showed evidence of greater immunocompetence on 2 of 3 dynamic measures: natural killer cytotoxicity and proliferation response to phytohemagglutinin among spouses who reported high levels of social support. All six components of social support assessed by the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell, 1987) were strongly related to these indices of immune function. No evidence was found for mediation by either life events or depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Role of family adaptability in the psychological adjustment of spouse caregivers to patients with dementia.

This study examined the role of family adaptability in moderating the impact of caregiving on psychological adjustment and the relationship between adaptability and marital roles for 54 spouse caregivers to patients with dementia. Greater memory and behavior problems were related to greater burden and depression. For caregivers who were lower in adaptability, longer hours of care were related to greater depression. For caregivers higher in adaptability, hours of care were unrelated to depression. Cluster analysis identified a subset of caregivers lower in adaptability, with a partner who was severely demented, who endorsed a spouse role. These caregivers were the most depressed in the sample. Implications for service providers and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Bereavement of spouse caregivers of cancer patients.

This study assessed bereavement aspects among 69 widowed spouses (mean age = 61.1; 36.2% men) of deceased cancer patients. They completed questionnaires related to psychological distress as measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (L. R. Derogatis, 1975a), psychosocial adjustment as measured by the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (L. R. Derogatis, 1975b), grief as measured by the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief (T. Faschingbauer, S. Zisook, & R. Devaul, 1987), and communication with spouse (D. H. Olson, D. G. Fournier, & T. M. Druckman, 1982). The findings indicated that women, older people, and past grief were variables that contributed to levels of current distress and grief. The widowed sample as a group showed high levels of distress, suggesting marked vulnerability and the need for planned intervention.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Changes in social support as mediators of the impact of a psychosocial intervention for spouse caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease.

The spouse caregivers of 406 patients with Alzheimer's disease were randomly assigned to an enhanced counseling and support intervention or to a usual care control condition. Structured interviews were conducted to assess changes in social support and psychosocial outcomes for the 312 caregivers who provided care in the home for at least 1 year. The number of support persons, satisfaction with the support network, and support persons' assistance with caregiving all increased significantly as a function of the intervention. Structural equation models indicated increased satisfaction with the social support network mediated a significant proportion of the intervention's impact on caregiver depression. A portion of this mediated effect was further mediated by changes in caregiver stress appraisals. Implications for strengthening intervention programs for spouse caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Spouses' understanding of the communication disabilities of aphasic patients.

The language skills of 11 aphasic patients were assessed through the use of the PICA. Spuses's understanding of the aphasic partner's language deficits was measured by rating the aphasic spouse on the Functional Communication Profile. Results indicate that spouses of aphasic patients view the patient's communication to be less impaired than it actually is. Implications for the counseling role of the speech pathologist in language therapy are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Marital satisfaction and pain severity mediate the association between negative spouse responses to pain and depressive symptoms in a chronic pain patient sample.

OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated marital satisfaction and pain severity as mediators of the relationship between spouse responses to pain and depressive symptoms. The study also investigated possible gender differences in these relationships. PATIENTS AND SETTING: This study included 165 married patients with chronic pain who were evaluated and treated at a comprehensive pain and rehabilitation center. DESIGN: Patients completed several questionnaires, including the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Marital Adjustment Test. RESULTS: Analyses were conducted separately for male and female patients. Correlational analyses revealed several gender differences in the associations among marital functioning, pain severity, and depressive symptoms. In addition, path analyses suggested that more frequent negative spouse responses to pain were associated with increased pain severity and decreased marital satisfaction, which were linked to increased depressive symptoms. Similar results were found for male and female chronic pain patients in terms of multivariate relationships. CONCLUSIONS: The current results suggest that marital therapy aimed at improving communication and coping skills may be an appropriate treatment for depression and pain in married chronic pain patients, regardless of sex.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Brief simultaneous couple hypnotherapy with a rape victim and her spouse: a brief communication.

This paper presents a case involving a rape victim and her emotionally affected spouse. Although the assault occurred before the couple met, the husband was too upset to concentrate when the victim wanted to share her rape-related feelings, nor could he provide the much needed empathy and support. This, apparently, was due to his difficulties in handling his own rage. Simultaneous couple hypnotherapy was used to allow the victim to share her experience under conditions safe for both her and her spouse. As he imagined in trance the rape account described by his age-regressed wife, he learned to identify his emotions and experience them in a controlled manner. During subsequent sessions, the husband was encouraged to include himself in his wife's abreaction and reshape the traumatic scene for both of them. The husband's rescuing behavior and the expressions of violent anger towards the perpetrator had several positive consequences. Not only did they change the abandonment component of the victim's traumatic memory, but they also helped the husband deal in better ways with his own feelings of anger. It also provided the couple with a helpful coping mechanism they later effectively applied under different circumstances.

Abreaction↗
PubMed1998

Symptom study in context: effects of marital quality on signs of Parkinson's disease during patient-spouse interaction.

Hypokinesia, the inability to initiate or maintain movement, represents one of the most disabling aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), and displays intriguing moment-to-moment variability from environmental stressors. Correlates of orofacial hypokinesia (characteristics of spontaneous eye blink and speech) were coded from videotaped interactions for PD patients in maritally distressed and nondistressed dyads. Significant changes occurred only for the patients in distressed relationships on the two strongest neurophysiologic measures of orofacial hypokinesia, rate and duration of spontaneous eye blink. Further analyses suggest two possible explanations for these temporal symptom changes. Distressed spouses may exacerbate symptoms by exposing the patient to negativity. Alternately, nondistressed spouses may compensate for the demands of the interactional task by assuming a greater share of the conversation relative to the patient's contribution. Results are linked to existing literature; the role of social and familial support in chronic illness is discussed.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1992

Marital therapy formats: an analysis of acceptability ratings with married spouses.

One hundred thirty-five married individuals evaluated the acceptability of alternative therapeutic formats commonly employed in marital therapy. Distressed and nondistressed spouses were randomly assigned to experimental conditions including two types of educational information (descriptive and group-oriented) presented across three treatment formats (i.e., individual, conjoint, and group). Primary dependent variables included the Treatment Evaluation Inventory and the Semantic Differential. Results revealed that conjoint format was most acceptable, followed by group and individual, respectively. However, distressed spouses rated the group and conjoint formats as equal in acceptability. Group-oriented information increased nondistressed subjects' ratings of group format. The implications of these results for clinicians and researchers offering marital therapy are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Marital and sexual satisfaction in patients with RA and their spouses.

This study sets out to determine predictors of marital and sexual satisfaction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their spouses. Fifty-nine patients and their spouses completed questionnaires independent from each other. Multiple correlations with marital and sexual satisfaction were computed for demographic variables, disease status, psychological distress, and social support. The results indicate that psychological distress and social support are more important than objectively assessed disease status in determining marital and sexual satisfaction in patients with RA.

Adaptation, Physiological↗