Couples coping with multiple sclerosis: a dyadic perspective on the roles of mindfulness and acceptance

Abstract

This study investigated the roles of mindfulness and acceptance on adjustment in couples coping with multiple sclerosis (MS) by examining the effects of an individual's mindfulness and acceptance on their own adjustment (actor effects) and the effects of their partner's mindfulness and acceptance on their adjustment (partner effects) using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. The study was a cross-sectional standard dyadic design that collected data from couples coping with MS. Sixty-nine couples completed measures of mindfulness, acceptance and adjustment (depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, positive affect and relationship satisfaction). As hypothesised there were actor effects of mindfulness and acceptance on better adjustment, however, the beneficial actor effects of mindfulness were only evident on depression and anxiety. The actor effects of both mindfulness and acceptance on relationship satisfaction were moderated by MS status. Regarding partner effects, there was support for the beneficial impact of acceptance on partner relationship satisfaction. In addition, the partner effect of acceptance moderated the actor effect of acceptance on depression, such that the actor effect on lower depression was weaker when the partner reported high acceptance. Findings support the roles of mindfulness and acceptance in shaping individual and dyadic adjustment in couples coping with chronic illness.

Do Flexible Goal Adjustment and Acceptance Help Preserve Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis?

“…The positive association between acceptance and all assessed indexes of quality of life further adds to a growing body of evidence in patients with MS [5,12,26,[33][34][35][36][37] and in other chronic health conditions such as chronic pain [28,29], chronic fatigue syndrome [30,31], and cystic fibrosis [32]. Apparently acceptance is an important predictor in wellbeing in a broad range of chronic health problems, and MS is no exception.…”

“…Research has shown the beneficial effects of acceptance on various measures of wellbeing in a variety of chronic diseases, including chronic pain [28,29] [32] (e.g., Casier et al , 2008). Studies in patients with MS suggest similar associations between acceptance (or acceptance-related concepts such as sense giving) and life satisfaction, distress, mood, disability, and physical health [5,12,26,33,34,35,36,37]. However, its potentially dampening effect upon the impact of MS severity on quality of life remains untested.…”

Mindfulness in Motion for People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Feasibility Study

“…4,48 In addition, because MS extends beyond the person diagnosed as having MS, by adding to financial concerns for the family unit and adding possible caretaking responsibilities, the support individuals for people with MS could be included in future Mindfuless in Motion interventions. 23,48 To our knowledge, this study is the first empirical research examining the feasibility of the Mindfulness in Motion program for people with MS, exploring its potential effect on common symptoms of MS, specifically, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and QOL. This study adds to the growing body of research supporting the benefit of mindfulness and yoga in helping people with MS cope with physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.…”

“…4 Yoga techniques may be useful in decreasing the emotional distress of disease diagnosis and health-related changes. 4,17 Although a variety of studies have shown yoga to be safe and effective for improving physical function and mood states, only a handful of studies to date have been specific to MS and yoga, and only a few others to mindfulness meditation and MS. 4,5,8,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] In addition, because MS is thought to be exacerbated by stress, 1 interventions such as yoga and mindfulness-based interventions can help break patterns of excessive worry, rumination, and stress that are linked to depression and anxiety. 4,16,17,[30][31][32] Indeed, in a recent survey of 1110 people with MS, 32% of those who had used mind-body therapies found them to be beneficial.…”

“…39 These findings are important because MS causes demyelination and axonal loss of the central nervous system. 2 Despite these research findings, there are limited published studies using meditation or mindfulness training for people with MS. 8,18,27,28 Studies using mindfulness practices or yoga for people with MS have found statistically significant improvements in QOL, 5,8,19,20 reduced depression, 8,21,22 reduced anxiety, 8,22,23 reduced fatigue, 8,18,22,24,25 increased selective attention performance, 26 improved coping skills, reduced perceived stress, and increased resilience, 20,27 improvements in physical mobility and balance, 22,28 pain…”