title: Emotional Awareness, Relationship Quality, and Satisfaction in Patients With Parkinson's Disease and Their Spousal Caregivers.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship quality and satisfaction in couples, in which one partner had PD, obtaining the perspective of both patients and partner and to examine the impact of alexithymia, empathy, depression, and anxiety on ratings of relationship quality and satisfaction. Fifteen PD patients and partners completed the following scales: the Dyadic Adjustment Scale; Couple Satisfaction Index (CSI); the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale; the Empathy Quotient; the Hamilton Depression and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). We evaluated patients' motor functions by means of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and patients' quality of life by means of the PD Questionnaire. Patients were significantly less satisfied with the relationship than their partners as revealed by CSI (p = 0.031) and they were more depressed (p = 0.003) and anxious (p = 0.015). A negative correlation between measures of relationship quality and satisfaction and alexithymia was found in the patients group. No correlations were found between measures of relationship quality and satisfaction (both of patients and partners) and any other demographical and clinical variables. CSI and HAM-A were predictors of patient's social support evaluation. The presence of alexithymia in PD is an important factor affecting relationship quality and satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: *Sobell Department, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK; †Department of Geriatrics, Neuroscience and Orthopaedics, "Gemelli" Hospital, Catholic University of Sacred Heart (UCSC), Rome; ‡Cattedra di Psichiatria - Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Universita` degli Studi di Milano; and §Institute of Neurology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pomponi
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Demartini
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morabito
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bernabei
authors.forename: Anna Rita
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bentivoglio
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001364:Awareness; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017060:Patient Satisfaction