Endorsement of interpersonal strategies for dealing with hypothetical everyday arthritis problems as a function of marital status, gender, and problem severity.
We used hypothetical vignettes to examine whether older adults' endorsement of interpersonal strategies for dealing with health-related (arthritis) everyday problems varied as a function of marital status, gender, and the severity of the problem. Adults 60 years and older (N=127, M = 71.40 years, SD = 7.21) rated interpersonal (i.e., discuss with doctor, spouse, relative) and other strategies (e.g., deal with the problem alone, pray) for solving two hypothetical everyday problems (one mild and one severe arthritis problem). Women reported a greater likelihood of using interpersonal strategies. Married people rated interpersonal strategies that involved their spouse higher than other strategies. Greater severity of problems was associated with greater endorsement of interpersonal strategies. Implications of the results for understanding the conditions under which older adults endorse strategies that may initiate collaborative everyday problem solving are discussed.
Strough
Jonell
J
Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26501-6040, USA. JoNell.Strough@mail.wvu.edu
McFall
Joseph P
JP
Schuller
Kelly L
KL
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D001168:Arthritis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011340:Problem Solving; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires