The differential role of spousal collaboration on pain reactivity to daily stressors in older couples with and without multiple chronic conditions

Spousal collaboration has been considered as important coping resource to deal with aging-related health problems, but little is known about the role of spousal collaboration on the everyday stress-reactivity process in couples facing multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). We examined the within-person association of daily stressors and pain, and whether spousal collaboration played a differential role in moderating this association in older couples living with and without MCCs. Data were drawn from an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research, wherein two sub-samples of older married couples (including 52 dyads facing couple-level MCCs and 55 dyads without couple-level MCCs) reported 7671 (89.61%) valid EMA surveys across 20 consecutive days. A multilevel model was used to examine the effect of spousal collaboration on momentary pain reactivity to daily stressors. Exposure to daily stressors was associated with an increased level of momentary pain, and such pain reactivity was more prominent in couples facing both spouses' MCCs than in those not facing such couple-level MCCs. Spousal collaboration played a differential role in momentary pain reactivity to daily stressors in two sub-samples. In couples facing both spouses' MCCs, spousal collaboration buffered momentary pain reactivity to health-related stressors and home-related stressors. Similar buffering effect was not found in the couples not facing both spouses' MCCs. These findings highlighted the importance of dyadic coping resources for managing aging-related health problems and pain experiences, offering insights to inform the development of couple-based health interventions by incorporating the enhancement of spousal collaboration as a key element.