FOLLOWING YOUR LEAD: PATIENTS’ DIET ADHERENCE, SPOUSE AWARENESS AND INVOLVEMENT IN MANAGING DIABETES

Abstract

Spouses often are involved in the day-to-day management of chronic illnesses by supporting their partners’ adherence to treatment recommendations (health-related social support), or regulating their partners’ behaviors when adherence is irregular or absent (health-related social control). Although support and control have implications for both partners, little is known about what prompts spouses’ daily involvement. Using daily diary data from 129 patients with type 2 diabetes, we found that on days when patients reported higher adherence to their diabetic diet, spouses were more aware of their partners being on track with their diet, which in turn, was related to more spousal support. On days when patients reported lower adherence, spouses were more aware of their partners being off track with their diet, which in turn, was related to more spousal control (both persuasion and pressure). Findings suggest that spouses may be appropriately calibrating their involvement in response to patients’ adherence.