Communal coping in type 1 diabetes: Randomized trial of a couple-focused intervention

A great deal of observational research has demonstrated links of communal coping to good relationship and health outcomes among people with chronic disease and their partners. However, there has not been a strong empirical test of a communal coping intervention with the goal of affecting these outcomes. In this study, we developed a couples' intervention for adults with type 1 diabetes based on communal coping-adopting a shared appraisal of diabetes and collaborating with a partner to manage diabetes.

We recruited 80 persons (July 2023 to January 2025) with type 1 diabetes (PWD) and their partners and randomly assigned them to intervention or usual care control conditions. The intervention consisted of a single 2-hr session with 7-days of follow-up intervention reminders. There was a baseline assessment and a 6-week follow-up assessment in which primary outcomes (self-care behavior, diabetes distress) and secondary outcomes (relationship quality, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, time in target glucose range, hemoglobin A1c) were assessed. In addition, abbreviated outcome measures were assessed at the end of the day during a 14-day daily diary session that immediately followed the baseline session.

The intervention enhanced perception of communal coping among both PWD and partners, as evidenced in both survey and daily diary reports. However, the intervention did not have significant effects on primary or secondary outcomes, with the exception of an increase in time in target glucose range and an increase in daily diary reports of relationship quality.

Conceptual and methodological explanations for these findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).