Abstract
Effects of a chronic disease, rheumatoid arthritis, upon the psychological adjustment of 103 women and their healthy husbands were examined. Husbands completed scales assessing perceived vulnerability to illness and coping efficacy, burden of caring for their wives, and level of psychological adjustment. Wives completed the Ways of Coping scale, rated attributions about arthritis, and rated criticalness and supportiveness of their husbands. Husbands were also interviewed and their responses coded for critical remarks about the wife. The same variables were used to predict each partner's adjustment in order to compare factors associated with each. Hierarchical regression indicated that negative marital interaction surrounding the wife's illness was a determinant of both partners' psychological adjustment. Apart from this variable, different factors predicted husbands' and wives' mental health. Husbands were most affected by their own perceived vulnerability to disease and coping inefficacy. Wives were most affected by pain severity and how they coped with arthritis.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barrera, M., Sandler, I., and Ramsay, T. (1981). Preliminary development of scale of social support: Studies on college students.Am. J. Comm. Psychol. 9: 435–441.
Coleman, R., and Miller, A. (1975). The relationship between depression and marital adjustment in a clinic population.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 43: 647–651.
Coyne, J., Kessler, R., Tal, M., Turnbull, J., Wortman, C., and Greden, J. (1987). Living with a depressed person.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 55: 347–352.
Croog, S., and Fitzgerald, E. (1978). Subjective stress and serious illness of a spouse: Wives of heart patients.J. Health Soc. Behav. 19: 166–178.
Felton, B., and Revenson, T. (1984). Coping with chronic illness: A study of illness controllability and the influence of coping strategies on psychological adjustment.J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 52: 343–353.
Fiore, J., Becker, J., and Coppel, D. (1983). Social network interactions: A buffer or a stress.Am. J. Commun. Psychol. 11: 423–439.
Fries, J., Spitz, P., Kraines, R., and Holman, H. (1980). Measurement of patient outcome in arthritis.Arth. Rheum. 23: 137–145.
Holm, J., Terre, L., Penzein, D., Slater, M., and Ray, S. (1989). Spouses of headache patients: An overlooked group? Paper presented at the 10th Annual Meetings of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, Calif., April.
Jacobson, N., Noltzworth-Monroe, A., and Schmaling, K. (1989).J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 37: 5–10.
Janoff-Bulman, R., and Frieze, I. (1983). A theoretical perspective for understanding reactions to victimization.J. Soc. Issues 2: 1–17.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J., Glaser, R., Shuttleworth, E., Dyer, C., Ogrocki, P., and Spiecher, C. (1987). Chronic stress and immunity in family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease victims.Psychosom. Med. 49: 523–535.
Manne, S., and Zautra, A. (1989). Spouse criticism and support: Their association with coping and psychological adjustment among women with rheumatoid arthritis.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 56: 608–617.
Meyer, C., and Taylor, S. (1986). Adjustment to rape.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 50: 1226–1234.
Miklowitz, M., Goldstein, M., Falloon, I., and Doane, J. (1984). Interactional correlates of expressed emotion in the families of schizophrenics.Br. J. Psychiatr. 144: 482–487.
Mitchell, R., Cronkite, R., and Moos, R. (1983). Stress, coping and depression among married couples.J. Abnorm. Psychol. 4: 433–448.
Penzien, D., Holm, J., Johnson, C., Terre, L., Beckham, J., Ray, S., Brown, T., and Slater, M. (1989). Assessment of headache activity, pain coping behavior: Congruence between patient and spouse. Paper presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, San Francisco, Calif., April.
Rook, K. (1984). The negative side of social interaction: Impact on well-being.J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 46: 1096–1108.
Teresi, J., Bennett, R., and Wilder, D. (1978). Personal time dependency and family attitudes. InReport of the Research Utilization Workshop of Dependency in the Elderly of New York City, Community Council of Greater New York, New York, pp. 46–60.
Vaughn, C., and Leff, J. (1976). The measurement of expressed emotion in the families of psychiatric patients.Br. J. Soc. Clin. Psychol. 51: 157–165.
Veit, C., and Ware, J. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations.J. Consult. Clin, Psychol. 51: 730–742.
Wills, T. (1981). Downward comparison principles in social psychology.Psychol. Bull. 90: 245–271.
Zarit, S., Todd, P., and Zarit, J. (1986). Subjective burden of husbands and wives as caregivers: A longitudinal study.Gerontologist 26: 260–266.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Manne, S.L., Zautra, A.J. Couples coping with chronic illness: Women with rheumatoid arthritis and their healthy husbands. J Behav Med 13, 327–342 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00844882
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00844882