Couple and family interventions for high mortality health conditions: A strategic review (2010–2019)

Abstract

The earliest publications in the field of marriage and family therapy introduced interventions conducted with families experiencing complex health conditions. This strategic review captures an evaluation of efficacy for 87 couple and family interventions published between 2010 and 2019 with a focus on the leading causes of mortality in the United States. These health conditions include chromosomal anomalies and accidents with infants aged 0–4 years; accidents and cancer among children aged 5–14; accidents among adolescents aged 15–24; and heart disease, cancer, accidents, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, influenza/pneumonia, and nephritis/nephrosis among adults 25 and older. Results support the need for greater inclusion of couples and families in assessments and interventions. The greatest chasm in efficacy research was with minoritized couples and families. Implications include ways to initiate couple and family interventions in the context of health conditions with attention given to accessibility, recruitment, retention, and evaluation.

Reducing mental health disparities among racially and ethnically diverse populations: A review of couple and family intervention research methods (2010–2019)

“…Studies were reviewed across the following mental health topics: infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH; Kaminski et al, 2022), disruptive behavior problems (Sheidow et al, 2022), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Babinski & Sibley, 2022), anxiety disorders (Goger & Weersing, 2022), depressive and bipolar disorders , suicidal ideation and behavior (Frey et al, 2022), substance use disorders (Hogue et al, 2022), traumatic event exposure (McWey, 2022), intimate partner violence and child maltreatment (Stith et al, 2022), couple relationship education (Markman et al, 2022), and couple relationship distress (Doss et al, 2022). Although physical health was also featured in the special issue (Lamson et al, 2022), we did not review physical health interventions as we considered these interventions to have important methodological differences meriting their own review.…”

Intimate Relationships and Coronary Heart Disease: Implications for Risk, Prevention, and Patient Management

“…Empirically-supported relationship therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral couple therapy, have been found to be useful in the treatment of relationship difficulties and emotional distress in medically healthy populations and can have clear benefits in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD that are commonly co-morbid with CHD [ 76 , 164 – 166 ]. There have been long-standing calls for adaptation of these couple therapies to the routine management of CHD [ 167 ], and a small but growing body of evidence suggests that they can be useful additions to the management of chronic medical illness [ 168 , 169 ].…”

Couple therapy in the 2020s: Current status and emerging developments

“…In addition to reducing either general or specific relationship difficulties, evidence from several clinical trials supports the beneficial impact of couple therapies for coexisting emotional, behavioral, and physical health concerns (Babinski & Sibley, 2022 ; Fischer et al, 2016 ; Goger & Weersing, 2022 ; Hogue et al, 2022 ; Lamson et al, 2022 ; Stith et al, 2022 ). For example, there is evidence in support of couple‐based interventions for depression or anxiety (Wittenborn et al, 2022 ), posttraumatic stress (Monson et al, 2012 ), and alcohol problems (McCrady et al, 2016 ) of an adult partner.…”