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In 1990, the total costs for people with chronic conditions amounted to approximately $659 billion. By 2030, approximately 150 million Americans will suffer from some type of chronic condition. The focus of this Special Issue is the reciprocal association among illness and intimate relationships.
In 1990, the total costs for people with chronic conditions amounted to approximately $659 billion. By 2030, approximately 150 million Americans will suffer from some type of chronic condition. The focus of this Special Issue is the reciprocal association among illness and intimate relationships.
In 1990, the total costs for people with chronic conditions amounted to approximately $659 billion. By 2030, approximately 150 million Americans will suffer from some type of chronic condition. The focus of this Special Issue is the reciprocal association among illness and intimate relationships.
Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, Vol 4, No.
4, 1997
Introduction to Special Issue
Intimate Relationships and Health: Research and Practice Approximately 100 million people who live in the United States suffer from some type of chronic illness such as diabetes or arthritis. Although the chances of acquiring a chronic illness increase with age, three-quarters of those who currently fall into this group are persons under age 65. It is estimated that by the year 2030, approximately 150 million Americans will suffer from some type of chronic condition. In 1990, the total costs for people with chronic conditions amounted to approximately $659 billion, which includes $425 billion for direct health care costs and $234 billion in indirect costs such as time lost from work (Hoffman, Rice, & Sung, 1996). People with chronic conditions do not exist within a vacuum: they are wage earners, have ongoing associations with health care professionals, and have families. Consequently, chronic illness affects many different systems within our society and will likely continue to have increasing and alarming effects given the above statistics. The focus of this special issue is the reciprocal association among illness and intimate relationships. The articles in this issue address the effects of illness on intimate relationships, as well as how relationship status (i.e., being or not being in an intimate relationship) and relationship quality (how satisfying the relationship is) affect disease and health status. Included in this issue are three empirical investigations of the impact of a chronic illness on relationship functioning. Levin, Sher, and Theodos explore how agreement or disagreement in coping strategies between a husband and a wife affects both psychological and relationship distress in couples coping with infertility. Schmaling, Afari, Barnhart and Buchwald investigate the association among disease severity, medical utilization, and relationship satisfaction among couples in which one person has asthma. Romano, Turner, and Jensen examine the intimate environments of patients with chronic pain and their spouses and how they differ from those of couples without health problems. Additionally, O'Mahoney and Carroll 359 1068-9583/97/1200-0359$1250/0 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation
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Introduction to Special Issue
present a comprehensive review and integration of the literature on the
impact of breast cancer on relationship functioning. Two articles explore how relationship status or intimacy factors (such as satisfaction, excitement, and closeness) covary with illness and illness-risk behaviors. Rankin-Esquer, Miller, Myers, and Taylor examine the impact of marital status on disease outcomes in a population-based study of persons with coronary heart disease. McNeal investigates relationship variables which may hinder condom use among gay male couples, thereby increasing our understanding of factors associated with illness-risk behaviors in a highrisk population. The articles that comprise this issue focus on six disparate medical populations. The overwhelming conclusion of the articles, taken singly and as a series, is that health care providers cannot fully comprehend the nature of illness, its treatment, and its impact if the role of patients' intimate relationships is not addressed. Tamara Goldman Sher Karen Schmaling Guest Editors
REFERENCES Hoffman, C., Rice, D., & Sung, H. (1996). Persons with chronic illness. Journal of the American Medical Association, 276, 1473-1479.