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. 2023 Jan 5;10(1):20551029221143670.
doi: 10.1177/20551029221143670. eCollection 2023 Jan-Jun.

Motives for spousal involvement in a Partner's diabetes management: Considering the role of gender and links to diet-related involvement

Geneva C Gerwitz  1 , Kristin J August  1 , Charlotte N Markey  2
Affiliations

Motives for spousal involvement in a Partner's diabetes management: Considering the role of gender and links to diet-related involvement

Geneva C Gerwitz et al. Health Psychol Open. .

Abstract

Using data from 148 middle-aged and older adult spouses whose partners had type 2 diabetes, we sought to examine spouses' motives for involvement in their partners' diabetes management and whether these motives were related to common types of diabetes-related spousal involvement; we also sought to understand gender differences in these dynamics. Spouses indicated being motivated to be involved in their partners' diabetes management due to altruistic motives to the greatest extent and egoistic motives to the least extent. Results from multivariable regression analyses that controlled for gender, marital quality, and spouses' own conditions requiring dietary changes revealed that all types of motives were related to the frequency of providing diet-related spousal support, whereas only egoistic motives were related to the frequency of exerting diet-related spousal control. We did not find gender differences in any motives nor in associations with spousal involvement. Findings have potential implications for couples-oriented chronic illness interventions.

Keywords: diabetes; gender; health-related social control; health-related social support; marriage; motives.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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