Daily illness appraisal and collaboration in couples with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: Dyadic coping theories posit that spousal involvement may benefit illness management through collaborative and supportive (C&S) strategies and shared illness appraisals. Illness appraisals have only been examined as individual differences rather than fluctuating daily as individuals manage the difficult Type 1 diabetes regimen. The study examined how daily illness appraisals of individuals with Type 1 diabetes and their spouses were linked to spouses' daily C&S strategies and whether C&S strategies were most beneficial for daily diabetes outcomes when they occurred in the context of shared illness appraisals.

Diabetes stress and health: Is aging a strength or a vulnerability?

The purpose of this work was to examine (1) relations of diabetes stress to psychological well-being and health, (2) links of age to such outcomes and (3) the extent to which age moderated relations from diabetes stress to outcomes. These aims were addressed in a diverse community sample of 207 individuals recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, employing survey and daily diary methods. Participants reported age, diabetes distress, and psychological distress at baseline and 6 months later.

Short Report: Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale: An Adaptation and Exploration in a Diverse Community Sample.

We adapted the widely-used measure of relationship closeness, the Inclusion of Other in Self Scale (IOS; Aron, Aron, & Smollan, 1992), to assess communal coping (IOS-CC). Communal coping is a construct that reflects a shared appraisal of a stressor ('our problem' instead of 'my problem') and collaborative action to manage the stressor. We administered the IOS and the IOS-CC to a racially and economically diverse sample of persons with type 2 diabetes and their partners ( = 207 couples) and examined how a subset ( = 85 couples) interpreted the IOS-CC as well as the IOS.

I am a rock; I am an island: Implications of avoidant attachment for communal coping in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Accumulating evidence indicates that communal coping is beneficial for individuals with chronic illness. The current investigation examined attachment as a moderator of the effects of communal coping in a sample of persons with type 2 diabetes. We hypothesized that patient communal coping would be associated with higher relationship quality, lower distress, and better diabetes outcomes for patients low in avoidant attachment, but it would not be beneficial for patients high in avoidant attachment.

The importance of having fun: Daily play among adults with type 1 diabetes.

Although play has been linked to psychological and physical well-being in childhood, little work has examined benefits of play in adulthood. Play may be especially important in the context of coping with a chronic illness such as type 1 diabetes as self-care involves a difficult daily process. We hypothesized that daily play with one's romantic partner would be linked to better mood, greater diabetes disclosure, greater support receipt, greater perceived coping effectiveness with one's most important daily stressors, and better self-care regarding type 1 diabetes.

An examination of the communal coping process in recently diagnosed diabetes.

Communal coping, which involves a shared illness appraisal and engaging in collaboration when illness-related problems arise, is likely beneficial for individuals with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this work was to examine the process by which communal coping may lead to such benefits. First, we hypothesized that illness-related interactions characterized by more communal coping would involve greater spouse support provision and greater patient receptivity to support.

Patient and partner illness appraisals and health among adults with type 1 diabetes.

In a study of 199 couples in which one person had type 1 diabetes, we examined how patient appraisal of the diabetes as shared versus individual was associated with collaborative, supportive and unsupportive behavior and whether patient shared illness appraisal was most beneficial for health when it occurred in the context of supportive behavior. We assessed illness appraisal among patients with type 1 diabetes and their partners and had patients complete relationship and health measures. Results showed partners were more likely than patients to hold shared illness appraisals.

Daily sleep quality and daily stressors in couples coping with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To examine the influence of daily sleep quality in patients with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) on that of their spouses and to investigate the influence of couples' sleep quality on patients' diabetes-specific stressors and couples' general stressors the following day.

Methods: 199 patients with Type 1 diabetes (Mage = 46.82) and their spouses (Mage = 46.

Communally coping with diabetes: An observational investigation using the actor-partner interdependence model.

Communal coping is a form of interpersonal coping that involves a shared illness appraisal and collaborating to address illness-related issues. We hypothesized that communal coping among couples in which one person is recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes would be related to better diabetes problem-solving, better mood, greater relationship quality, and less psychological distress for both partners. Communal coping was coded from videotaped interactions in which 119 heterosexual couples discussed difficulties in managing diabetes.

Communal Coping and Adjustment to Chronic Illness: Theory Update and Evidence.

We present a theory of communal coping that describes an optimal pathway to patient adjustment among couples in which one person faces a chronic illness. Communal coping consists of a shared illness appraisal (i.e.

Predicting the Pursuit and Support of Challenging Life Opportunities.

Deciding to embrace challenging opportunities may present one life context through which individuals may thrive, and these decisions may be influenced by one's significant relationships. Married couples were unobtrusively videotaped as one couple-member was presented with a challenging opportunity and decided whether to accept it. We assessed interpersonal predictors of the decision to accept or forgo the opportunity, predictors of the spouse's support during decision-making, and follow-up thriving outcomes 6 months later.

A Longitudinal Investigation of Relational Catalyst Support of Goal Strivings.

The goal of this work was to test a theoretical model of relational catalyst support provision that promotes thriving in non-adverse times. We tested a pathway proposed by Feeney and Collins (2014) that explains how relational catalyst support in the context of close relationships might lead to thriving. We proposed that once relational catalyst support has been received, it functions through the mechanisms of being perceived to be responsive to one's needs and promoting perceived capability.

Young at Heart: A Perspective for Advancing Research on Play in Adulthood.

Developmental and animal research has established play as important to well-being, yet little is known about implications of play by human adults, particularly within close relationships, where it is most likely to occur. Although this is an important emerging topic for psychology, several obstacles have impeded research in this area, including definitional issues and the lack of a guiding framework. In this article, we direct attention to this neglected research area and propose a perspective on play in adulthood that provides a definition of the construct (a behavior or activity that is carried out with the goal of amusement and fun, involves an enthusiastic and in-the-moment attitude or approach, and is highly interactive among play partners or with the activity itself) and identifies potential immediate outcomes (e.

Motivations for providing a secure base: links with attachment orientation and secure base support behavior.

This investigation examined the importance of underlying motivations in predicting secure base support behavior, as well as the extent to which support motivations are predicted by individual differences in attachment orientation. Participants were 189 married couples who participated in two laboratory sessions. During a questionnaire session, couples completed assessments of their underlying motivations for providing, and for not providing, support for their partner's exploration (i.

Enacted support's links to negative affect and perceived support are more consistent with theory when social influences are isolated from trait influences.

Social support theory typically explains perceived support's link to mental health as reflecting the role of specific supportive actions (i.e., enacted support).