Living with chronic pain: the spouse's perspective.

This report is part of a larger study mounted for purposes of investigating the effects on a family of chronic pain in one of its adult members. Data concerning the spouses' understanding of their mate's pain along with the spouses' perception of the impact of this problem on their own health are presented. The factors of uncertainty and helplessness were found to be central to the distress experienced by the spouses in this study. The finding that the experience of living with chronic pain extends beyond the individual sufferer to encompass the family as a whole would suggest that health professionals must incorporate the family into the process of learning the meaning and management of chronic pain.