Aguilar-Raab Corina, Stoffel Martin, Fischer Melanie, Eckstein Monika, Bodenmann Guy, Heinrichs Markus, Ehlert Ulrike, Ditzen Beate
Department of Clinical Psychology, Interaction- and Psychotherapy Research, Institute for Compassionate Awareness and Interdependence Research and Practice IN-CARE, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
Institute of Medical Psychology, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Br J Health Psychol. 2025 May;30(2):e12799. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12799.
This study aimed at evaluating the effects of a minimal couple intervention focusing on positive aspects within the relationship (instructed partnership appreciation task; PAT) in daily life. We hypothesized a stress-buffering effect of this intervention on perceived stress, salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase.
N = 40 couples were randomly assigned to either PAT or a no PAT (nPAT) condition. Self-reports and saliva samples were assessed six times per day on five consecutive days. To account for couple interdependencies, multilevel modelling (MLM) approaches were used to test the effects of (a) group assignment (PAT vs. nPAT) and (b) practicing the PAT in everyday life (PAT group only).
Overall perceived stress was lower for women in the PAT group as compared with women in the nPAT group (b = -.380, p = .0098). Within the PAT group, daily positive interaction (PAT) significantly reduced cortisol (b = -.127, p = .02) and alpha amylase (b = -.122, p = .037). Sex-specific analyses of within-participants effects in daily life indicate that these results were driven by the men in the sample: Practicing the PAT led to a decrease in perceived stress (b = -.271, p = 001) and sCort (b = -.226, p = .006) in men, but not in women (all p > .05).
The findings suggest that a minimal couple intervention can improve individual health-related outcomes in a sex-specific manner, and that effects depend on actually practicing the positive exchange in daily life.
The analysis of the present study is based on a sub-sample (placebo group) of a larger neuropharmacological intervention and longitudinal trial 'Oxytocin, Couple Interaction and Wound Healing' (clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT01594775).
本研究旨在评估聚焦于关系中积极方面的最小夫妻干预措施（指导性伴侣欣赏任务；PAT）在日常生活中的效果。我们假设这种干预对感知压力、唾液皮质醇和α-淀粉酶具有压力缓冲作用。
将N = 40对夫妻随机分为PAT组或无PAT（nPAT）组。在连续五天中，每天对自我报告和唾液样本进行六次评估。为了考虑夫妻间的相互依存关系，采用多层次建模（MLM）方法来测试（a）组分配（PAT组与nPAT组）和（b）在日常生活中实践PAT（仅PAT组）的效果。
与nPAT组的女性相比，PAT组的女性总体感知压力较低（b = -0.380，p = 0.0098）。在PAT组中，日常积极互动（PAT）显著降低了皮质醇（b = -0.127，p = 0.02）和α-淀粉酶（b = -0.122，p = 0.037）。对日常生活中参与者内部效应的性别特异性分析表明，这些结果是由样本中的男性驱动的：实践PAT导致男性的感知压力（b = -0.271，p = 0.001）和唾液皮质醇（sCort，b = -0.226，p = 0.006）降低，但女性没有（所有p > 0.05）。
研究结果表明，最小夫妻干预措施可以以性别特异性方式改善个体健康相关结果，且效果取决于在日常生活中实际进行积极交流。
本研究的分析基于一项更大规模的神经药理学干预和纵向试验“催产素、夫妻互动与伤口愈合”（clinicaltrials.gov，标识符NCT01594775）的一个子样本（安慰剂组）。
