Longitudinal associations between chronic condition discordance and perceived control among older couples

Chronic health conditions among individuals and their partners may diminish perceived control, particularly when these conditions are highly complex. We considered how chronic condition discordance (i.e., the extent that two or more conditions have nonoverlapping self-management requirements) at the individual level and the couple level (i.e., between spouses) was linked to health-related control and personal mastery across an 8-year period, and whether these links varied by age. The U.S. sample included 879 wives (M = 53.81 years) and husbands (M = 57.19 years) from three waves (2006, 2010, and 2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Dyadic growth curve models controlled for age, minority status, education, own and partner baseline negative marital quality, and own and partner time-varying depressive symptoms, and number of chronic health conditions. Overall, both individual-level and couple-level degrees of chronic condition discordance were associated with initial levels of and rates of change in perceived control. When wives had greater individual-level discordance, they reported lower initial personal mastery. When husbands had greater individual-level discordance, they reported lower initial health-related control and faster declines in health-related control and personal mastery, and their wives reported faster declines in personal mastery. When there was greater couple-level discordance, wives reported lower initial health-related control. Age moderated the associations between wives' individual-level discordance and their own initial level of health-related control and rate of change in personal mastery. Interventions to improve later-life well-being may be enhanced by targeting increases in perceived control among individuals and couples managing complex patterns of chronic conditions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Contact, Emotional Support, and Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Older Adults with Chronic Conditions

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic may contribute to heightened anxiety among older adults with chronic conditions, which might be attenuated by social resources. This study examined how social contact and emotional support were linked to anxiety symptoms among adults aged 50 and older with chronic conditions, and whether these links varied by age.

METHODS

Participants included 705 adults (M = 64.61 years, SD = 8.85, range = 50- 94) from Michigan (82.4%) and 33 other U.S. states who reported at least one chronic condition and completed an anonymous online survey between May 14 and July 9, 2020.

RESULTS

Multiple regression models revealed among younger people, those reporting more frequent social contact had significantly lower anxiety symptoms. Emotional support was not significantly associated with anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

More frequent social contact was linked to lower anxiety symptoms for younger but not older individuals. Emotional support was not significantly associated with anxiety symptoms.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Interventions to manage anxiety during the pandemic among older adults with chronic conditions may benefit from strategies to safely increase social contact, especially for middle-aged adults.