Relationship closeness in the context of chronic pain: Daily benefits and challenges for partners

This study investigates the divergent effects of daily relationship closeness on partners of individuals with chronic back pain (ICBPs). It examines whether greater daily closeness (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) is associated with both increased partner distress due to ICBP's pain and more positive marital interactions.

Data were drawn from a 30-day daily diary study involving 147 older couples, where one partner suffers from chronic back pain. Participants completed daily surveys on pain experiences, distress, and relationship closeness using tablet computers. Multivariate multilevel models tested the moderating effects of closeness on the association between ICBP's pain-related experiences (severity, interference, and catastrophizing) and partner pain-related distress, while also assessing its impact on marital interaction quality.

As predicted, emotional closeness moderated the link between ICBP's pain severity and partner distress, with stronger distress reported on days of high emotional closeness. Emotional closeness was also associated with more positive marital interactions that day. Contrary to expectation, there was a stronger effect of ICBP's pain catastrophizing on partner distress on days of low behavioral closeness (i.e., less often working together on projects and engaging in outside interests together). Cognitive closeness showed a similar pattern, but the interaction was not statistically significant after inclusion of covariates.

These findings illustrate a complex interplay between closeness and personal well-being in couples managing chronic illness and suggest the need for interventions that target both the benefits and potential costs of closeness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).