To Love is to Suffer: Older Adults’ Daily Emotional Contagion to Perceived Spousal Suffering

Monin, Joan K.; Levy, Becca R.; Kane, Heidi S.

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbv070

Cited by 27 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…For wives and husbands, we predicted that greater own and partner reports of pain intensity at baseline would be associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms as well as increases in depressive symptoms over time. In line with research suggesting that women engage more often in pain catastrophizing (i.e., ruminating about or magnifying pain-related experiences) [6] and may have greater awareness and empathy for their partner’s pain than men [8,12,19,49], we predicted that these associations would be significantly stronger for wives than for husbands.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…There are at least three plausible reasons for these findings. First, partners’ pain may elicit greater psychological distress for wives than for husbands because wives express higher levels of empathy and emotional contagion in response to their partner’s suffering [19,49]. Second, compared with husbands, wives may be more aware of their spouse’s pain and related functional impairment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

Polenick

Brooks

Birditt

2017

PAIN

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Chronic pain has been linked to depression among individuals and their partners. Yet, little is known about long-term mutual influences between pain intensity and depressive symptoms within couples as they age. Using a nationally representative U.S. sample of wives and husbands aged 50 and older (mean = 64.53, SD = 7.86), this study explored the links between own and partner pain intensity and depressive symptoms across an 8-year period. A total of 963 heterosexual married couples drawn from the Health and Retirement Study completed interviews biennially from 2006 to 2014. Dyadic growth curve models examined mutual associations within couples and controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, length of marriage, and marital quality, along with self-rated health, number of chronic health conditions, and functional disability. For wives and husbands, their own greater baseline pain intensity was significantly linked to their own higher levels of depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, wives with greater baseline pain intensity reported decreases in their depressive symptoms over time. There were also partner effects such that husbands’ greater pain intensity at baseline was associated with increases in wives’ depressive symptoms over time. Findings highlight the importance of considering both individual and spousal associations between pain intensity and depressive symptoms in later life. Understanding how individual and couple processes unfold may yield critical insights for the development of intervention and prevention efforts to maintain mental health among older chronic pain patients and their spouses.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

Polenick

Brooks

Birditt

2017

PAIN

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“…The diary study occurred after a laboratory session that involved tasks examining spouses' reactions to their partner's suffering (Monin, Levy, & Kane, 2015). Participants were given a paper daily diary survey to take home.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spouses’ daily feelings of appreciation and self-reported well-being.

Monin¹,

Poulin²,

Brown³

et al. 2017

Health Psychology

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Objective Research shows that active support provision is associated with greater well-being for spouses of individuals with chronic conditions. However, not all instances of support may be equally beneficial for spouses' well-being. The theory of communal responsiveness suggests that because spouses' well-being is interdependent, spouses benefit most from providing support when they believe their support increases their partner's happiness and is appreciated. Two studies tested this hypothesis. Methods Study 1 was a 7-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of 73 spouses of persons with dementia (74%) and other conditions. In Study 1 spouses self-reported active help, perceptions of how happy the help made the partner and how much the help improved the partner's well-being, and spouses' positive and negative affect at EMA time points. Study 2 was a 7-day daily assessment study of 43 spouses of persons with chronic pain in which spouses reported their emotional support provision, perceived partner appreciation, and their own physical symptoms. Results Study 1 showed that active help was associated with more positive affect for spouses when the they perceived the help increased their partner's happiness and improved their partner's well-being. Study 2 showed that emotional support provision was associated with fewer spouse reported physical symptoms when perceptions of partner appreciation were high. Conclusion Results suggest that interventions for spouses of individuals with chronic conditions take into account spouses' perceptions of their partners' positive emotional responses. Highlighting the positive consequences of helping may increase spouses' well-being.

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“…they are uncomfortable with intimacy and dependence on others) report feeling less personal distress, but not lower perceptions of partner suffering, than caregivers with less avoidant attachments. In a daily diary study of spouses of individuals with chronic pain, we found that spouses who report high marital satisfaction report more distress in response to perceptions of partner suffering than spouses who report lower marital satisfaction (Monin, Levy, & Kane, 2015). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Existing studies show that the perceived suffering of the care recipient is moderated by a number of caregiver attributes, including attachment style, marital satisfaction, and closeness (Monin, Schulz, Feeney, et al, 2010; Monin et al, 2015). As illustrated in Figure 1, these factors affect the perception of suffering and the consequent well-being of the caregiver.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of compassion, suffering, and intrusive thoughts in dementia caregiver depression

Schulz

Savla

Czaja

et al. 2016

Aging & Mental Health

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Objectives Exposure to suffering of a relative or friend increases the risk for psychological and physical morbidity. However, little is known about the mechanisms that account for this effect. We test a theoretical model that identifies intrusive thoughts as a mediator of the relation between perceived physical and psychological suffering of the care recipient and caregiver depression. We also assess the role of compassion as a moderator of the relation between perceived suffering and intrusive thoughts. Methods Hispanic and African American caregivers (N = 108) of persons with dementia were assessed three times within a one-year period. Using multilevel modeling, we assessed the mediating role of intrusive thoughts in the relation between perceived physical and psychological suffering and CG depression, and we tested moderated mediation to assess the role of caregiver compassion in the relation between perceived suffering and intrusive thoughts. Results The effects of perceived physical suffering on depression were completely mediated through intrusive thoughts, and compassion moderated the relation between physical suffering and intrusive thoughts. Caregivers who had greater compassion reported more intrusive thoughts even when perceived physical suffering of the CR was low. For perceived psychological suffering, the effects of suffering on depression were partially mediated through intrusive thoughts. Discussion Understanding the role of intrusive thoughts and compassion in familial relationships provides new insights into mechanisms driving caregiver well-being and presents new opportunities for intervention.

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To Love is to Suffer: Older Adults’ Daily Emotional Contagion to Perceived Spousal Suffering

Abstract: Marital satisfaction can increase daily emotional contagion to spousal suffering among older couples dealing with chronic conditions. Wives' distress may be more dependent on perceiving high levels of partner suffering compared with husbands' distress.

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

Own and partner pain intensity in older couples: longitudinal effects on depressive symptoms

Spouses’ daily feelings of appreciation and self-reported well-being.

The role of compassion, suffering, and intrusive thoughts in dementia caregiver depression

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