Daily stress spillover and crossover in couples coping with type 1 diabetes

In the context of a chronic illness such as Type 1 diabetes (T1D), managing general stressors may be linked to diabetes-specific stressors for persons with T1D, an intraindividual contagion phenomenon (i.e., spillover). Among those with romantic partners, stress may also be associated with the partner's stress (i.e., crossover). These intraindividual and interpersonal processes may be further strengthened or weakened in the presence of individual (e.g., sleep satisfaction) and interpersonal (e.g., relationship satisfaction) factors. This study examined spillover and crossover effects between daily general and diabetes-specific stressors and whether sleep satisfaction and relationship satisfaction moderated spillover and crossover effects among couples in which one person had T1D. Persons with T1D (n = 199; M_age = 46.82, 52.3% female) and their romantic partners (n = 199; M_age = 46.41, 47.2% female) reported general stressors and sleep satisfaction, and persons with T1D reported diabetes-specific stressors on 14 consecutive days. Both couple members completed a survey that assessed relationship satisfaction. Multilevel models revealed significant within-person and between-person stress spillover and crossover effects. When examining the moderating role of sleep satisfaction, however, persons with T1D with better sleep satisfaction did not experience spillover between one domain and the other. Furthermore, partners with higher relationship satisfaction did not experience crossover between the persons with T1D-specific stressors and their general stressors. These findings support the conceptualization of the link between general and diabetes-specific stressors as both an intraindividual and a dyadic process among couples coping with T1D. In addition, better sleep satisfaction can prevent spillover effects, and relationship satisfaction can prevent stress crossover effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).