The theory of resilience and relational load was tested with 60 couples and their adolescent children (ages 11-18) with type I diabetes (T1D). The couples participated in a stress-inducing conversation task in their home, followed by a random assignment to a two-week intervention designed to increase their relationship maintenance. Before the intervention, stronger communal orientation predicted greater maintenance for husbands and wives, but maintenance only reduced T1D stress for wives. The wives' and adolescents' T1D stress were also correlated, but the husbands' T1D stress was not significantly associated with either of them. Better maintenance was associated with less conflict during couples' conversations. Maintenance was also directly associated with less perceived and physiological stress (cortisol) from the conversation. Finally, wives in the intervention reported the most thriving, communal orientation and the least loneliness. The intervention also reduced adolescents' general life stress, but it did not influence their T1D stress or thriving.

No abstract

This study examined whether relationship maintenance buffers the stress of balancing work and family. Sixty-two dual-earning couples and their adolescents completed surveys at the beginning and end of the week, recorded their stress throughout the week, and collected saliva on two consecutive days in the middle of the week. When mothers and fathers received more maintenance from each other and adolescents received more maintenance from their parents over the past month (T1), it was associated with a greater rise in cortisol awakening response. Greater maintenance received over the past month was also associated with lower interleukin-6 in adolescents and lower perceived stress during the week for fathers and adolescents. Finally, less maintenance the past month predicted greater conflict during the week for mothers, which predicted less satisfaction balancing work and family. Less maintenance over the past month and conflict during the week also predicted loneliness for both parents.

No abstract

Having an adolescent with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be stressful for the entire family. This study examined the impact of parents’ relationship maintenance on their ability to manage the conflict associated with their child’s T1D, the parents’ physiological health (inflammation), and the relationships within the family. Sixty couples and their adolescent children with T1D participated. The couples engaged in a stressful conversation about their child’s T1D in their home, followed by random assignment to a 2-week intervention designed to increase the relationship maintenance in the marriage. Results from the home visit revealed that when husbands and wives received greater maintenance from each other the past month, they perceived less conflict when talking about their adolescent’s T1D, which was associated with less relational load and lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). For wives, greater relationship maintenance was also directly associated with less relational load and lower CRP levels. In addition, the relationship maintenance received was directly and positively associated with parent–child relationship quality for fathers, but this association was mediated by interparental conflict for mothers. Finally, the 2-week intervention reduced parents’ relational load and the number of stressful conversations and improved the mother–adolescent relationship but did not significantly reduce parents’ CRP.