Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare
-
Comparative Study
Social support mediates the relations between role strains and marital satisfaction in husbands of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.
Husbands of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (HFMS) report poorer physical and mental health than husbands of women without illness, as well as role strains because of their wives' condition. There are no published reports regarding the impact of fibromyalgia on their marital relationship. In the present study, we used Lazarus and Folkman's (1984) model of stress and coping as a framework to examine marital satisfaction among HFMS. ⋯ Among HFMS, sexual and domestic roles strains and social support were related to marital satisfaction. Social support alone mediated the relationship between role strain and marital satisfaction, and no variable moderated the relationship. These findings support prior research that shows that these husbands are significantly impacted by their wives' condition, and suggest the need to focus more attention on this population, possibly targeting social support for interventions.