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. 2016 Oct;35(10):1047-58.
doi: 10.1037/hea0000388. Epub 2016 Jun 9.

Implications of supportive and unsupportive behavior for couples with newly diagnosed diabetes

Vicki S Helgeson  1 , Katilyn Mascatelli  1 , Howard Seltman  1 , Mary Korytkowski  2 , Leslie R M Hausmann  3
Affiliations

Implications of supportive and unsupportive behavior for couples with newly diagnosed diabetes

Vicki S Helgeson et al. Health Psychol. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relation between daily diary reports of diabetes-specific social interactions to patient and partner mood and patient self-care behaviors, and whether relations are moderated by unmitigated communion.

Method: Participants were 70 couples in which 1 person had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the past 3 years. They were interviewed in-person at baseline and completed daily diary reports on an iPad. Daily diary questionnaires measured support, mood, and self-care behavior (patients only). Unmitigated communion, a personality trait characterized by an overinvolvement in others to the exclusion of the self, was measured at baseline.

Results: Multilevel statistical modeling revealed that daily fluctuations in partner emotional support were related to daily fluctuations in happy mood, more exercise, and dietary compliance. Partner controlling behavior was related to poor mood but was unrelated to self-care. Relations of support and controlling behavior to mood were strongest for individuals high (vs. low) in unmitigated communion.

Conclusion: Patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes who felt understood and cared for by partners reported a better mood and were more likely to take care of themselves on a daily basis, whereas patients whose partners were controlling on a daily basis reported poorer mood. Patients characterized by unmitigated communion were most affected by partner supportive and unsupportive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Depressed mood decreased as informational support increased for patients high in unmitigated communion, but there was no relation between informational support and depressed mood for patients low in unmitigated communion. Simple slopes were as follows: Low UC = .02; SE=.04, Med UC = −.07; SE=.03, and High UC = −.16; SE=.04.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Days on which patients reported more partner controlling behavior than usual were related to increased feelings of depressed mood. This relation was strongest for patients high in unmitigated communion. Simple slopes were as follows: Low UC = .13; SE=.06, Med UC = .22; SE=.05, and High UC = .34; SE=.07.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Partner happiness increased as informational support provided increased for partners high in unmitigated communion, but partner happiness decreased as informational support provided increased for partners low in unmitigated communion. Simple slopes were as follows: Low UC = −.06; SE=.06, Med UC = −.01; SE=.05, and High UC = .06; SE=.06.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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