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INTRODUCTION: Many adolescents are in their first romantic relationship; at the same time, depressive symptoms generally increase during this developmental stage. In adults, equity of support in romantic relationships is associated with less depressive symptoms-especially in female partners, who are generally on "the losing side" of support transactions with male partners. This study examines whether equity of dyadic coping is associated with depressive symptoms in adolescent mixed-gender couples. We disentangle equity of positive and negative dyadic coping, as differential effects might arise. METHODS: Self-report data on dyadic coping and depressive symptoms were gathered from 124 mixed-gender couples aged between 16 and 21 years living in Switzerland between 2011 and 2013. Equity of dyadic coping was quantified by calculating the difference between received dyadic coping and provided dyadic coping for each partner separately. These difference scores and the overall level of dyadic coping were used to predict depressive symptoms in both partners using an Actor-Partner-Interdependence Model. RESULTS: For female adolescents, we found the expected curvilinear association between equity of negative dyadic coping behaviors and depressive symptoms (actor effect). Additionally, the female perception of equity of positive dyadic coping was correlated with less depressive symptoms in male partners (partner effect). For male adolescents, receiving more positive dyadic coping than they provided was associated with more depressive symptoms (actor effect). DISCUSSION: In female partners, results resembled those in adult mixed-gender couples. In male partners, results changed depending on the direction of inequity-possibly due to gender role development.
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Emerging adults (EAs) are at high risk for mental health challenges and frequently reach out to their parents for support. Yet little is known about how parents help emerging adults manage and cope with daily stressors and which strategies help and which hinder EA mental health. In this cross-sectional pilot study of students at a 2- and 4-year college (ages 18-25, N = 680, mean age = 19.0), we extend models of dyadic coping from intimate relationships to the parent-emerging adult relationship and test whether six specific parent strategies to help emerging adults manage stress are associated with EA mental health. Emerging adults with parents who provided problem and emotion-focused supportive dyadic coping, delegated dyadic coping, and common/joint dyadic coping reported fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as higher levels of psychological well-being. In contrast, college-attending emerging adults who reported higher levels of parent-provided negative dyadic coping reported higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms and lower psychological well-being. Parent-emerging adult dyadic coping is a fruitful area for future research and intervention development.
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BACKGROUND: Intimate social relationships improve individual health and longevity, an effect which is supposed to be mediated through stress-sensitive endocrine and immune mechanisms in response to positive interaction behavior. On a neuroendocrine level, oxytocin (OT) buffers stress responses, modulates social attachment behavior and has been associated with cytokine expression. Consequently, the aim of the present study was to investigate instructed positive couple interaction, observed behavior, and OT in their effect on immune function. METHODS: In a 4-group design, 80 healthy couples (N = 160 individuals) received four standard dermal suction blister wounds and were randomized to instructed positive interaction/control and intranasal OT/placebo. Unstimulated cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α) were assessed from wound liquid at 40 min, 105 min and 24 hrs after wounding. RESULTS: Overall, group assignment did not affect friendly or dominant behavior during the interaction sequence. IL-1ß and IL-6 levels, however, were moderated by group assignment with lowest levels in women in the positive interaction and OT condition in IL-1 and highest levels in IL-6. TNF-α responses to wounding were not affected from group assignment, however observed friendliness in women was associated with lower TNF-α levels. DISCUSSION: These findings support the immune-regulating role of friendly behavior in romantic couples. Above this, the data provide the first empirical evidence that an intervention that simultaneously targets neuroendocrine mediators and behavior could affect immune function in a sex specific manner and with potential long-term health relevance.
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Ocitocina , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa , Feminino , Humanos , Interleucina-6 , Nível de Saúde , Fatores ImunológicosRESUMO
This randomized, wait list-controlled trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the cognitive behavioural therapy-based online e-learning course stressfit for better stress management and the cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia-based online course SweetDreams for coping with insomniac problems. The course modules offer state of the art psychoeducation and cognitive behavioural strategies concerning different aspects of stress, sleep and insomnia. They provide practice-oriented exercises for self-reflection, as well as a variety of evidence-based methods and measures to increase self-efficacy when dealing with stress or insomnia. Study participants were randomly assigned to the three test conditions stressfit, SweetDreams or a wait list. Participants filled in questionnaires on a wide range of scales relevant to stress and insomnia at three points in time (before, 4 weeks after, and 3 months after the treatment). Of the 588 participants in total, data from 347 participants (59%) were finally included in the data analyses. Data analyses showed that both courses yielded significant positive effects compared with the wait list condition 4 weeks and to some degree 3 months after completion in relation to insomnia symptoms, physical and psychological wellbeing, life satisfaction and general health (General Health Questionnaire), as well as on satisfaction with and effectiveness of coping with stress and sleep disorders. In conclusion, SweetDreams and stressfit proved to be feasible and effective online cognitive behavioural therapy (for insomnia) tools to reduce insomnia and stress symptoms on a broad variety of scales at the 4-weeks measurement point as well as at the 3-months follow-up.
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Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental , Distúrbios do Início e da Manutenção do Sono , Humanos , Distúrbios do Início e da Manutenção do Sono/terapia , Terapia Cognitivo-Comportamental/métodos , Sono , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adaptação Psicológica , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Both parental psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) and parental relationship functioning (e.g., negative communication) are common parental risk factors for dysfunctional parenting. The spillover process from these parental characteristics to dysfunctional parenting is assumed to be amplified by parental stress, which is particularly common among mothers and fathers of young children. However, few studies have examined dyadic spillover processes from parental risk factors and parental stress on parenting in early childhood. In the current study, we first examined direct actor and partner effects of parents' depressive symptoms and negative communication at 10 months postpartum on dysfunctional parenting at 48 months postpartum in 168 primiparous mixed-gender couples. Second, we analyzed indirect effects via one's own and the partner's parental stress at 36 months postpartum using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM). We found direct actor effects for mothers' depressive symptoms and negative communication on their dysfunctional parenting. Additionally, indirect actor effects were found for depressive symptoms and negative communication among mothers and fathers. Specifically, mediating effects of depressive symptoms and negative communication on one's dysfunctional parenting through one's parental stress were found. There were no indirect partner effects through parental stress. These findings highlight the important role of parental stress in early childhood as a mediator between both individual and relationship parental risk factors and dysfunctional parenting. These results further underscore the importance of longitudinal dyadic analyses in providing early and tailored interventions for both mothers and fathers of young children.
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OBJECTIVE: Although most people in romantic relationships cosleep, biosocial modulators of sleep quality have only recently come into focus. Oxytocin (OT) might be one such modulator, as it had been shown to increase social attachment and safety. We investigated the association between everyday life couple interaction and sleep quality, as well as the effects of OT on this association. METHODS: Eighty heterosexual couples ( N = 160 individuals, mean [standard deviation] age = 28 [5] years) were randomized to self-administer a) 32 international units of intranasal OT or b) placebo during 5 consecutive days. Each morning, they reported on sleep quality, and on subjective feelings of closeness and valence of couple interaction at a maximum of four times a day. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear models. RESULTS: Subjective closeness ( B = 0.43, t (73) = 3.80, p < .001) and valence (negative - positive) of couple interaction ( B = 0.50, t (73) = 3.91, p < .001) were positively associated with sleep quality. Persons with OT reported higher levels of sleep quality than those without ( B = 0.47, t (74) = 2.32, p = .023). The association between closeness and sleep quality was stronger with OT than without (OT by closeness: B = 0.31, t (72) = 2.29, p = .025; OT by valence of interaction: B = 0.27, t (72) = 1.77, p = .081). Whereas the effect of couple interaction on sleep quality was strong in men, the OT effects were especially pronounced in women. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that enhancing closeness and positive couple interaction in cosleeping partners might be a way to improve sleep quality. The moderating effects of OT and sex on the association between couple interaction and sleep quality can have important implications for sleep therapy.Trial Registration: The study was preregistered at ClinicalTrials.gov ("Oxytocin, Couple Interaction, and Wound Healing" study, identifier NCT01594775). The present analyses were not preregistered.
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Emoções , Ocitocina , Administração Intranasal , Adulto , Método Duplo-Cego , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Ocitocina/farmacologia , SonoRESUMO
Because relationship discord and dissolution are common and costly, interventions are needed to treat distressed couples and to prevent distress among vulnerable couples. We review meta-analytic evidence showing that 60-80% of distressed couples benefit from behavioral and emotion-focused approaches to couple therapy, but we also note that treatment effects are weaker in actual clinical practice than in controlled studies, dissipate following treatment for about half of all couples, and may be explained by factors that are common across models. Meta-analyses of prevention programs reveal reliable but smaller effects, reflecting a need to know more about whether and how communication mediates effects, about how risk and diversity moderate effects, and about how technology-enabled interventions can reduce attrition in vulnerable populations. Interventions for couples are improving and expanding, but critical questions remain about how and for whom they work.
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Terapia de Casal , Relações Interpessoais , Avaliação de Processos e Resultados em Cuidados de Saúde , Parceiros Sexuais , Cônjuges , Terapia de Casal/métodos , Terapia de Casal/normas , Humanos , Parceiros Sexuais/psicologia , Cônjuges/psicologiaRESUMO
This study explored self-regulatory efforts during the viewing of couple interactions and their association with relationship satisfaction. High-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) was measured for each participant during a video recall of a recent couple interaction to quantify the self-regulatory processes governed by parasympathetic activity. Among 30 couples, HF-HRV was measured continuously during three specific periods to explore its change over time using a video-recall procedure: (1) resting state; (2) viewing of couple interactions (expressing daily life situations and conflictual interactions); and (3) recovery. Results of multilevel models revealed a u-shaped pattern of HF-HRV responses for men and women across the three periods with a nadir at the midway through the process. This pattern of physiological change (vagal suppression) reflects a flexible response to a stressful situation. Nevertheless, the pattern of physiological responses varied according to the level of relationship satisfaction. Men who were more satisfied in their couple relationship presented greater vagal suppression than dissatisfied men. In contrast, no significant HF-HRV changes were found in women over the different periods of the video-recall procedure and no moderating effect of relationship satisfaction. We discuss the different patterns of physiological responses observed both for men and women in terms of interindividual variability according to the level of their relationship satisfaction. The present study highlights the important role of relationship satisfaction in regulatory processes.
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Frequência Cardíaca/fisiologia , Casamento/psicologia , Satisfação Pessoal , Autocontrole , Adolescente , Adulto , Emoções , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto JovemRESUMO
It is widely accepted that support-seeking behaviour is culture-specific, such that Asians are less likely to seek support when stressed compared with Westerners. However, mounting evidence is based on the vignette methodology or the cross-sectional survey and utilised students sample. Little is known about how such behaviour manifests in real life and incurs relational consequences. Moreover, psychological theories predict both differences in support-seeking behaviour between persons and the variability of such behaviour within persons. The current study aims to explore between-and within-person associations between support seeking and relationship satisfaction in Chinese couples. Eighty-four Chinese couples reported their daily stressors, support seeking behaviour, and relationship satisfaction every evening for 7 days and overall relationship satisfaction before the diary study and 1 year later. We found that support seeking matters in Asian couples: On days when couples sought more support, they would be more satisfied with their relationship. Notably, no negative associations between couples' own support seeking and partners' relationship satisfaction were found. This study advances our understanding of general and temporal support-seeking processes in Asian couples in the course of everyday life and over time. Results entail important theoretical and practical implications.
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Grupos de Autoajuda/normas , Adulto , Povo Asiático , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The importance of recovery from stress is evident in times of high prevalence of stress-related diseases. Intimacy has been found to buffer psychobiological stress reactivity, suggesting that emotional and physical closeness might trigger biological mechanisms that underlie the health-beneficial effects of couple relationships. Here, we investigated whether couples' spontaneous expression of intimacy before and after psychosocial stress exposure in the laboratory reduced cortisol reactivity and accelerated recovery. METHODS: Data from 183 couples (366 individuals) were analyzed. Couples were randomly assigned to one of the following three experimental conditions: only the female partner (n = 62), only the male partner (n = 61), or both partners were stressed in parallel (n = 60) with the Trier Social Stress Test. Couples' behavior was videotaped and coded for expressions of intimacy, and saliva samples were taken repeatedly (nine times) to analyze cortisol levels before and after stress. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. RESULTS: Observed partner intimacy reduced cortisol responses to stress in women (B = -0.016, SE = 0.006, p = .008), although this effect was eliminated among women using oral contraceptives. Observed partner intimacy also reliably accelerated cortisol recovery in men (B = -0.002, SE = 0.001, p = .023) and women (B = -0.002, SE = 0.001, p = .016). CONCLUSIONS: Spontaneous nonverbal expressions of intimacy seem to regulate the effects of acute environmental demands on established biological indices of stress response.
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Hidrocortisona/metabolismo , Relações Interpessoais , Comunicação não Verbal , Parceiros Sexuais/psicologia , Estresse Psicológico/metabolismo , Estresse Psicológico/psicologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Saliva , Adulto JovemRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer (BC) can be understood as a we-disease, which affects a couple as a unit and requires coping as a unit (eg, common dyadic coping, CDC). However, partners can be incongruent in their perceptions of CDC, for example, because of misunderstandings and lack of mutuality or conflict, which may likely be associated with greater distress. Thus, this paper examines the effect of CDC congruence on individual psychological distress in cancer patients and their partners. METHODS: Seventy mixed-sex couples in which the woman had nonmetastatic BC completed self-report questionnaires at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year after cancer surgery. CDC congruence measured the difference between patients' and partners' CDC perceptions while controlling for CDC itself. RESULTS: Multilevel modeling showed negative associations between couples' CDC and psychological distress. Beyond this effect, female patients' psychological distress was associated with CDC congruence with an interaction showing that psychological distress was greater when couples were congruent with low rather than a high CDC. CONCLUSION: Less congruence was associated with greater psychological distress in BC patients but not their male partners - especially if the couple reported low CDC. Health professionals should identify and address diverging perceptions, so that additional distress can be minimized for BC patients.
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Adaptação Psicológica , Neoplasias da Mama/psicologia , Angústia Psicológica , Cônjuges/psicologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeAssuntos
Relações Interpessoais , Ocitocina/metabolismo , Percepção da Dor , Cônjuges , Ferimentos e Lesões/fisiopatologia , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Dor/fisiopatologia , Dor/prevenção & controle , Medição da Dor , Fatores Sexuais , Comportamento Social , Cicatrização , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Although evolutionary and social-structural models predict that women will be more supportive than men in relationships, behavioral studies fail to confirm this difference. We predicted instead that gender differences in support will be moderated by stress, and that men will provide lower-quality support primarily when their stress is high. We predicted further that the detrimental effects of stress on men's support will be more evident when men are responding to women's emotionally toned expressions of stress than when men are responding to women's affectively neutral expressions of stress. Stressed and unstressed men and women were observed providing support to a stressed relationship partner. While unstressed, men and women generally provided similar support to the stressed partner. While stressed, men provided lower-quality support than did comparably stressed women, but only in response to emotionally toned expressions of stress. Thus, gender differences in support may arise because women are better able than men to regulate other people's emotional distress while managing stresses of their own.
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Relações Interpessoais , Homens/psicologia , Comportamento Sexual/psicologia , Apoio Social , Estresse Psicológico , Mulheres/psicologia , Adulto , Feminino , Identidade de Gênero , Humanos , Masculino , Análise de Regressão , Autorrelato , Suíça , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Past studies have shown strong associations between sexual functioning and interpersonal factors. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the moderating role of partner-related fascination-an important dimension of relationship quality-in the association between sexual functioning and relationship satisfaction in a community sample of Swiss men and women. A total of 70 individuals participated in an anonymous online survey. Variables related to sexual functioning, fascination and relationship satisfaction were subject to correlation, regression and moderation analyses.
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Felicidade , Relações Interpessoais , Satisfação Pessoal , Comportamento Sexual/psicologia , Parceiros Sexuais/psicologia , Adulto , Coito/psicologia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Inquéritos e Questionários , Suécia , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Research on partner-related has been neglected in the past. According to the attribution theory of fascination, partner appreciation is an integral part for a successful relationship. So far, however, no available validated instruments exist or the assessment of partner-related fascination. Hence, the aim of the present study was the development and validation of a new instrument to assess partner-related fascination (FfP). METHODS: The questionnaire was validated in an online study including 265 individuals (aged 18-63). The psychometric properties and the dimensional structure of the questionnaire were investigated using internal consistencies, as well as exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. RESULTS: The factorial validation resulted in 2 subscales. The internal consistency was unsatisfactory for the first factor (alpha=0.58) but acceptable for the second factor (alpha=0.86). The results tentatively indicate that only the second subscale of the FfP should be used. This 8-item subscale, however, shows good psychometric properties and can therefore be applied as an adequate research instrument for the assessment of long-term partner fascination.
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Testes Neuropsicológicos , Psicometria , Cônjuges/psicologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Análise Fatorial , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Inquéritos e Questionários , Adulto JovemRESUMO
RATIONALE: Couples share distress as well as potential personal growth (PG) after a cancer diagnosis. It is essential for professionals to learn more about the ways couples cope together with adversity. Dyadic results may help to understand controversial results in the PG literature and inform clinicians in optimizing psychological support for couples. OBJECTIVE: We examine the temporal and dyadic development of PG among patients and their intimate partners. In addition, life threat is examined as a potential factor influencing PG after cancer diagnosis. METHODS: We assessed PG using the Personal Growth Inventory in a clinically representative, mixed-type and mixed-stage cancer cohort (N = 154 couples) 6 and 12 months after cancer diagnosis. Medical data on cancer diagnoses and treatments were collected from physicians. Actor-partner interdependence models were applied. RESULTS: PG was reported by patients and their partners. Women (either as patients or partners) reported more PG than male patients or partners. PG remained relatively stable over 6 months and was related to whether the patient was receiving curative or palliative treatment. Female patients experienced less PG 6 months after the cancer diagnosis and if treatment was curative. Male patients experienced less PG if their partners experienced PG, and the treatment was curative. CONCLUSIONS: Dyadic growth is a phenomenon not limited to breast cancer or female patient couples and may represent a form of dyadic coping. Patients and partners seem to develop individual and dyadic growth, depending on a combination of gender and life threat. Psycho-oncology services may want to promote both couple level coping and support in order to optimize cancer care.
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Adaptação Psicológica , Neoplasias/psicologia , Cônjuges/psicologia , Adulto , Feminino , Identidade de Gênero , Humanos , Masculino , Modelos Psicológicos , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Inventário de Personalidade , Parceiros Sexuais/psicologiaRESUMO
Previous research suggests that undermining of attention performance might be one decisive underlying mechanism in the link between marital conflict and children's academic maladjustment, but little is known about specific risk patterns in this regard. This study examines, in an experimental approach, the role of children's history of interparental discord and skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) as moderators in the link between analogue marital conflict exposure and children's attention. The attention performance of 57 children, aged 11 to 13 years, was assessed prior to and immediately after a 1-min video exposure to either (a) a couple conflict or (b) a neutral condition. SCLR was measured continuously throughout the stimulus presentation. Results indicated that children's family background of interparental conflict and their physiological reactivity moderated the influence of the experimental stimulus on children's short-term attention performance. Lower SCLR served as a protective factor in children from high-conflict homes exposed to the couple conflict. The current study advances the body of knowledge in this field by identifying risk patterns for the development of attention problems in children in relation to marital conflict exposure.
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Atenção/fisiologia , Conflito Familiar/psicologia , Resposta Galvânica da Pele/fisiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Mães/psicologia , Testes Psicológicos , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
Vision impairment is considered one of the most common disability worldwide, can induce considerable stress for both patients and their spouses and may subsequently affect couples' psychological functioning. This study examined whether dyadic coping (DC) mediated the association between stress communication (SC) and depressive symptoms among couples coping with one partner's vision impairment. A total of 99 Swiss couples completed questionnaires assessing SC, various types of DC, and depressive symptoms. An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model was performed. Results showed that (1) the more one partner communicated stress, the less the other partner perceived negative DC and, consequently, the less the partner perceiving negative DC reported depressive symptoms; (2) the more partners communicated stress, the more they and their partners engaged in common DC and, consequently, the less the partner engaging in common DC reported depressive symptoms; (3) the more partners communicated stress, the less they and their partners engaged in protective buffering and, consequently, the less the partner engaging in protective buffering reported depressive symptoms. This pattern of associations occurred similarly for patients and their spouses. Our findings underline the interpersonal experience of vision impairment within couples and the importance of fostering explicit SC and common DC in psychosocial rehabilitation interventions directed at couples facing one partner's vision impairment.
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Objectives: Recent findings suggest that individuals tend to engage in masturbation more frequently when experiencing elevated levels of psychological stress, and there appears to be distinguishable effects on stress response based on clitoral and vaginal stimulation. In this concurrent mixed-method study, we aimed to investigate this association in more detail using a convenience sample of 370 women. Methods: Quantitative data were used to examine whether higher psychological distress was associated with higher levels of masturbation frequency depending on the mode of stimulation, while qualitative data gave further insight into this association. Results: In regression analysis, higher levels of general and subscale-specific psychological distress were significantly associated with higher clitoral, but not combined clitoral and vaginal masturbation frequency. Qualitative content analysis showed that masturbation was used as a reliable coping strategy and self-care strategy which induced positive affective states, such as happiness and relaxation. Very few women reported negative feelings associated with masturbation. Mixed-method analysis revealed that women who indicated to use of masturbation for coping or self-care or who reported negative feelings did not differ in their level of psychological distress from women who did not report using it. The positive effects of masturbation were not related to the mode of stimulation. Conclusions: Results showed the complexity of how psychological distress is related to sexual activity and point to the potential benefits of masturbation for dealing with psychological distress and for enhancing general well-being. Our results have various implications for researchers, clinicians, and society.
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BACKGROUND: Technology has become an integral part of our everyday life, and its use to manage and study health is no exception. Romantic partners play a critical role in managing chronic health conditions as they tend to be a primary source of support. OBJECTIVE: This study tests the feasibility of using commercial wearables to monitor couples' unique way of communicating and supporting each other and documents the physiological correlates of interpersonal dynamics (ie, heart rate linkage). METHODS: We analyzed 617 audio recordings of 5-minute duration (384 with concurrent heart rate data) and 527 brief self-reports collected from 11 couples in which 1 partner had type II diabetes during the course of their typical daily lives. Audio data were coded by trained raters for social support. The extent to which heart rate fluctuations were linked among couples was quantified using cross-correlations. Random-intercept multilevel models explored whether cross-correlations might differ by social contexts and exchanges. RESULTS: Sixty percent of audio recordings captured speech between partners and partners reported personal contact with each other in 75% of self-reports. Based on the coding, social support was found in 6% of recordings, whereas at least 1 partner self-reported social support about half the time (53%). Couples, on average, showed small to moderate interconnections in their heart rate fluctuations (r=0.04-0.22). Couples also varied in the extent to which there was lagged linkage, that is, meaning that changes in one partner's heart rate tended to precede changes in the other partner's heart rate. Exploratory analyses showed that heart rate linkage was stronger (1) in rater-coded partner conversations (vs moments of no rater-coded partner conversations: rdiff=0.13; P=.03), (2) when partners self-reported interpersonal contact (vs moments of no self-reported interpersonal contact: rdiff=0.20; P<.001), and (3) when partners self-reported social support exchanges (vs moments of no self-reported social support exchange: rdiff=0.15; P=.004). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides initial evidence for the utility of using wearables to collect biopsychosocial data in couples managing a chronic health condition in daily life. Specifically, heart rate linkage might play a role in fostering chronic disease management as a couple. Insights from collecting such data could inform future technology interventions to promote healthy lifestyle engagement and adaptive chronic disease management. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR2-10.2196/13685.