Wives’ Reported Role Changes Following a Husband's Stroke: A Pilot Study

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study was to look at changes in the roles of wives when their spouses became disabled due to a stroke. Data collection tools included Buxbaum's Marital Role Questionnaire, which was administered first in the rehabilitation hospital and again at home 2 weeks after the spouses' discharge. Ten subjects participated in this study. Results suggest that (a) wives' responsibilities increased significantly after the husband's stroke, (b) wives' satisfaction with household responsibilities decreased significantly after the husband's stroke, and (c) wives' degree of marital unhappiness increased significantly after the husband's stroke. The hypothesis that wives' social activities decreased significantly after a husband's stroke was not supported. The study showed the need for healthcare professionals to assess wives whose husbands had strokes and to evaluate their ability to perform such basic family roles as economic provider, homemaker, and financial manager.

The experience of partners of young stroke survivors

“…The perceived impact of caring on the extended family was referred to by all the participants, and this contributes to an identified gap in knowledge [32] by demonstrating that impact on family roles is an issue for younger carers as well as older carers [15,22]. The need to re-define and re-negotiate the caring roles of family members was perceived as a source of pressure on relationships, and resonates with studies demonstrating that stroke produces a period of role destabilisation and disequilibrium [17].…”

“…In common with previous research, these partners of young stroke survivors perceived major changes in most areas of their life; restriction of social life, the need to take on roles and tasks previously performed by the stroke survivor, changes in employment and changes in relationships [3,12,16,17,22]. Although the life satisfaction of carers of young stroke survivors is known to decrease for up to 1 year after stroke [29], and the quality of life of carers of mixed age is similarly reduced [9], the current study demonstrates that re-appraisal, re-adjustment and acceptance of changed lives may occur at a later stage and contribute to positive psychological adjustment.…”

“…Difficulty is greatest when partners have multiple roles such as responsibility for children or employment in addition to care giving [16]. Responsibilities and roles may increase while satisfactions with responsibilities decrease [17]. Even during the rehabilitation phase carers experience 'role reversal' and exhaustion associated with taking on additional roles [18].…”

“…3,[9][10][11][12]15,[17][18][19][20][21][24][25][26][27][28]. Only two studies specifically considered the perspectives of partners of young stroke survivors; one considered the impact of stroke on the lives of survivors and partners 12-15 months after stroke [16], whereas the other [29] studied life satisfaction in partners at 4-12 months after stroke.…”

Caregiver strain in spouses of stroke patients

“…Changes to estabUshed pattems of daily Ufe can represent a major strain for carers (Periard and Ames, 1993). QuaUtative American studies of the effects of stroke on wives of stroke patients have demonstrated the unfamUiar new responsibUities of role changes, m addition to caring for the stroke patient (Rosenthal et al, 1993;Enterlante and Keme, 1995;Robinson-Smith and Mahoney, 1995).…”