Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms
BackgroundMultimorbidity is challenging not only for the patient but also for the romantic partner. Strategies for interpersonal emotion regulation like disclosing to the partner are supposed to play a major role in the psychosocial adjustment to multimorbidity. Research has often focused on disease...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-11-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02499/full |
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doaj-812f7f3955f24dba81e28d0cc713673e |
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Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Victoria S. Boettcher Barbara M. Holzer Barbara M. Holzer Klarissa Siebenhuener Klarissa Siebenhuener Andreas Maercker Andreas Maercker Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Lukas Zimmerli Lukas Zimmerli |
spellingShingle |
Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Victoria S. Boettcher Barbara M. Holzer Barbara M. Holzer Klarissa Siebenhuener Klarissa Siebenhuener Andreas Maercker Andreas Maercker Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Lukas Zimmerli Lukas Zimmerli Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms Frontiers in Psychology interpersonal emotion regulation disclosure complex health situations multimorbidity adjustment disorder symptoms preoccupation |
author_facet |
Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Andrea B. Horn Victoria S. Boettcher Barbara M. Holzer Barbara M. Holzer Klarissa Siebenhuener Klarissa Siebenhuener Andreas Maercker Andreas Maercker Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Edouard Battegay Lukas Zimmerli Lukas Zimmerli |
author_sort |
Andrea B. Horn |
title |
Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms |
title_short |
Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms |
title_full |
Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms |
title_fullStr |
Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms |
title_full_unstemmed |
Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder Symptoms |
title_sort |
couples adjusting to multimorbidity: a dyadic study on disclosure and adjustment disorder symptoms |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2019-11-01 |
description |
BackgroundMultimorbidity is challenging not only for the patient but also for the romantic partner. Strategies for interpersonal emotion regulation like disclosing to the partner are supposed to play a major role in the psychosocial adjustment to multimorbidity. Research has often focused on disease-related disclosure, even though disclosing thoughts and feelings related to mundane, everyday life occurrences might also play a role in coadjustment. The current dyadic study aimed at investigating the association between these two types of interpersonal regulation strategies and adjustment disorder symptoms, following the new ICD 11 criteria in multimorbid patients and their partners.MethodsShortly after being hospitalized due to an acute health crisis, N = 28 multimorbid patients (average age 70 years) and their partners filled in questionnaires on disclosure in the couple, adjustment disorder criteria of the ICD 11 (“preoccupation,” “failure to adapt”), and sleep problems.ResultsBoth patients and their partners did show similarly high levels of preoccupation and failure to adapt indicating adjustment problems to the complex health situation. The adjustment symptoms of both partners correlated between r = 0.22 and 0.45. Regression based on Actor-Partner Interdependence-Models revealed that own mundane disclosure was related to less adjustment symptoms in the patients. Beyond that, a partner effect was observed, revealing a negative association between partners’ illness-related disclosure and the patients’ level of preoccupation. For the partners, mundane disclosure of the partner was associated with less preoccupation, failure to adapt, and reported sleep problems above and beyond own disclosure reports. Furthermore, there was an actor effect of disease-related disclosure on less sleep problems for the partners.ConclusionThese results support an interpersonal view on adjustment processes to physical disease. Disclosure as a way of regulating the relationship and emotional responses might play a relevant role here, which seems to be different for patients and their partners. Further research is needed to shed more light on the differential role of disease-related and mundane everyday disclosure for psychosocial adjustment in couples confronted with health challenges. |
topic |
interpersonal emotion regulation disclosure complex health situations multimorbidity adjustment disorder symptoms preoccupation |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02499/full |
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doaj-812f7f3955f24dba81e28d0cc713673e2020-11-25T02:02:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-11-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.02499468492Couples Adjusting to Multimorbidity: A Dyadic Study on Disclosure and Adjustment Disorder SymptomsAndrea B. Horn0Andrea B. Horn1Andrea B. Horn2Victoria S. Boettcher3Barbara M. Holzer4Barbara M. Holzer5Klarissa Siebenhuener6Klarissa Siebenhuener7Andreas Maercker8Andreas Maercker9Edouard Battegay10Edouard Battegay11Edouard Battegay12Lukas Zimmerli13Lukas Zimmerli14University Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandCenter of Competence Multimorbidity, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandPsychopathology and Clinical Intervention, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, GermanyCenter of Competence Multimorbidity, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandCenter of Competence Multimorbidity, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandUniversity Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandPsychopathology and Clinical Intervention, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandUniversity Research Priority Program “Dynamics of Healthy Aging”, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandCenter of Competence Multimorbidity, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandCenter of Competence Multimorbidity, University of Zurich, Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Internal Medicine, Cantonal Hospital Olten, Olten, SwitzerlandBackgroundMultimorbidity is challenging not only for the patient but also for the romantic partner. Strategies for interpersonal emotion regulation like disclosing to the partner are supposed to play a major role in the psychosocial adjustment to multimorbidity. Research has often focused on disease-related disclosure, even though disclosing thoughts and feelings related to mundane, everyday life occurrences might also play a role in coadjustment. The current dyadic study aimed at investigating the association between these two types of interpersonal regulation strategies and adjustment disorder symptoms, following the new ICD 11 criteria in multimorbid patients and their partners.MethodsShortly after being hospitalized due to an acute health crisis, N = 28 multimorbid patients (average age 70 years) and their partners filled in questionnaires on disclosure in the couple, adjustment disorder criteria of the ICD 11 (“preoccupation,” “failure to adapt”), and sleep problems.ResultsBoth patients and their partners did show similarly high levels of preoccupation and failure to adapt indicating adjustment problems to the complex health situation. The adjustment symptoms of both partners correlated between r = 0.22 and 0.45. Regression based on Actor-Partner Interdependence-Models revealed that own mundane disclosure was related to less adjustment symptoms in the patients. Beyond that, a partner effect was observed, revealing a negative association between partners’ illness-related disclosure and the patients’ level of preoccupation. For the partners, mundane disclosure of the partner was associated with less preoccupation, failure to adapt, and reported sleep problems above and beyond own disclosure reports. Furthermore, there was an actor effect of disease-related disclosure on less sleep problems for the partners.ConclusionThese results support an interpersonal view on adjustment processes to physical disease. Disclosure as a way of regulating the relationship and emotional responses might play a relevant role here, which seems to be different for patients and their partners. Further research is needed to shed more light on the differential role of disease-related and mundane everyday disclosure for psychosocial adjustment in couples confronted with health challenges.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02499/fullinterpersonal emotion regulationdisclosurecomplex health situationsmultimorbidityadjustment disorder symptomspreoccupation |