Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Department of Psychology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
Ann Behav Med. 2019 Mar 20;53(4):372-382. doi: 10.1093/abm/kay049.
Caregiving spouses of individuals with chronic pain often experience poor well-being.
The current study aimed to examine the association between chronic pain-related provision of autonomy support and well-being in support providers (spouses) of individuals with chronic pain.
Spouses of individuals with a diagnosed musculoskeletal chronic pain condition (N = 172) were recruited for a five-time point longitudinal study. Participants completed the questionnaires once every 6 months across 2 years. In a follow-up diary study, participants (N = 41) completed daily records of provision of autonomy support and well-being.
Multilevel analyses showed that provision of autonomy support was associated with greater well-being in support providers at both within-person and between-person levels. Longitudinal cross-lagged analyses also provided some evidence that it is provision of autonomy support that predicts well-being, and not the opposite. These effects held true in the follow-up diary study; however, some findings also suggested that the short-term associations between provision of autonomy support and well-being could be reciprocal.
Current findings extend the existing literature by suggesting provision of autonomy support as a beneficial type of support for the provider within the chronic pain context and lay the groundwork for caregiver-focused interventions.
慢性疼痛患者的配偶照顾者通常健康状况不佳。
本研究旨在探讨慢性疼痛相关的自主支持提供与慢性疼痛患者配偶照顾者（配偶）的幸福感之间的关系。
为一项为期 2 年的 5 次时间点纵向研究招募了诊断为肌肉骨骼慢性疼痛疾病的个体的配偶。参与者每 6 个月完成一次问卷调查。在一项后续的日记研究中，参与者（n=41）每天记录自主支持的提供情况和幸福感。
多层次分析表明，在个体内和个体间水平上，自主支持的提供与照顾者的幸福感呈正相关。纵向交叉滞后分析也提供了一些证据表明，是自主支持的提供预测了幸福感，而不是相反。这些效应在后续的日记研究中仍然存在；然而，一些发现也表明，自主支持和幸福感之间的短期关联可能是相互的。
目前的研究结果通过在慢性疼痛背景下将自主支持的提供作为一种对提供者有益的支持类型，扩展了现有文献，并为以照顾者为重点的干预措施奠定了基础。
