Social Support and Marital Satisfaction among Couples Coping with Chronic Constructive Airway Disease

Bibliographic Data

ID2928134
AuthorsDonald G Unger (University of Delaware, corresponding author), Sharon B Jacob (Associates in Health Psychology), Sharon B Jacobs (Associates in Health Psychology), Christine Cannon (University of Delaware)
Year1996
Volume13
Issue1
Pages123-142
Publication date1996-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0265407596131007
OpenAlexW2104468317
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited36

Couples in which one spouse has chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD) face great distress and change over the life course. Couples experience multiple losses and feelings of anxiety, depression and hopelessness, usually beginning in mid-life and continuing into older age. This study explored two sources of social support - family support and friend support - as resources for coping with illness. The relation of family and friend received and provided support with marital satisfaction and the effects of sex and length of marriage were studied. Results indicated that the association between support and marital satisfaction was moderated by the couple's length of marriage, the sex of patients and spouses, and the degree of congruency between husbands' and wives' evaluations of their marital satisfaction. Support acted as a stress buffer in regard to marital satisfaction only for male spouses and male patients. Implications for theory, research and preventive interventions are discussed

Anxiety · Coping (psychology · Distress · Feeling · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Social support · Spouse · Clinical Psychology · Family and Disability Support Research · Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units · Health, psychology, and well-being · Psychology · Social Psychology

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