The long range goal of this investigation is to develop a better understanding of the long-term effects of a chronic impairment on the marital relationship and the mental health of the disabled elders and their non-disabled spouses. The proposed investigation intends to examine the phenomenon of emotional contagion, or the affect similarity across spouses, as it applies to the consequences of vision impairment, on the level of depressive symptomatology of the non-impaired spouse and the marital quality for each member of the spousal dyad. Age-related vision loss is a chronic impairment which affects a growing number of elderly (The Lighthouse National Survey, 1995; National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), 1986). An estimated 18.9 percent of American adults age 60 report some form of vision impairment (The Lighthouse National Survey, 1995). The majority of the previous studies on the outcome of chronic illness and disability have used one source of information, either the individual with an illness or a family member. This research will gather information from both members of the spousal dyad, in order to better understand the reciprocal relationship between married older adults, as it relates to their depressive symptoms and well-being. The Stress Process model of caregiving (Pearlin et al., 1990) will be used as a conceptual model to guide this investigation, as it relates to dealing with a chronic vision impairment.
The specific aims of the proposed research are: 1. Using a Stress Process model, to better understand the nature of the stressors (i.e. functional vision and ADL impairment of their partner, caregiving appraisals, and family conflict) experienced by spouses of a partner with a recent vision loss, and the impact of these stressors on the non-impaired spouse's depressive symptoms. 2. To explore the impact of the stressors of vision impairment on the quality of the marriage, as perceived by both the individual with vision loss and their spouse. The participants will be community dwelling elders experiencing a recent vision loss, and their spouses. Telephone interviews will be conducted with total of 120 spousal dyads, each member interviewed separately. Hypotheses will test the relative contribution of stressors, as outlined in the Stress Process model, to the depressive symptoms of the non- impaired spouse and the marital quality of both members of the dyad.
| Goodman, C R; Shippy, R A (2002) Is it contagious? Affect similarity among spouses. Aging Ment Health 6:266-74 |
