Prior research has identified a host of factors that increase the likelihood that an individual will develop problem gambling, clinically diagnosed as Gambling Disorder (GD), most of which would be identified by criminologists as \"strains\" under the framework of General Strain Theory (GST). This study utilizes propositions from GST to determine whether strain from another person\'s gambling may be related to why people develop GD and whether gender is a moderating factor in this relationship. Secondary data is analyzed to assess levels of strain individuals experience from another person\'s gambling behavior, its relationship to the individual\'s risk of Gambling Disorder, and the role gender plays in this relationship. Findings demonstrate a relationship between the strain from the perceived problem gambling of someone with a close relationship and having a gambling disorder. Experiencing strain from a spouse/partner who is perceived as a problem gambler has the strongest correlation with an individual also having Gambling Disorder. Considering gender as a moderating factor, this effect was stronger on men than women, calling into question the strong belief that it is primarily women who gamble to escape problems.

BACKGROUND: Research has established the effects of romantic relationships on individuals\' morbidity and mortality. However, the interplay between relationship functioning, affective processes, and health behaviors has been relatively understudied. During the COVID-19 pandemic, relational processes may influence novel health behaviors such as social distancing and masking.
OBJECTIVE: We describe the design, recruitment, and methods of the relationships, risk perceptions, and cancer-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic study. This study was developed to understand how relational and affective processes influence romantic partners\' engagement in cancer prevention behaviors as well as health behaviors introduced or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
METHODS: The relationships, risk perceptions, and cancer-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic study used online survey methods to recruit and enroll 2 cohorts of individuals involved in cohabiting romantic relationships, including 1 cohort of dyads (n=223) and 1 cohort of cancer survivors (n=443). Survey assessments were completed over 2 time points that were 5.57 (SD 3.14) weeks apart on average. Health behaviors assessed included COVID-19 vaccination and social distancing, physical activity, diet, sleep, alcohol use, and smoking behavior. We also examined relationship factors, psychological distress, and household chaos.
RESULTS: Data collection occurred between October 2021 and August 2022. During that time, a total of 926 participants were enrolled, of which about two-thirds were from the United Kingdom (n=622, 67.8%) and one-third were from the United States (n=296, 32.2%); about two-thirds were married (n=608, 66.2%) and one-third were members of unmarried couples (n=294, 32%). In cohorts 1 and 2, the mean age was about 34 and 50, respectively. Out of 478 participants in cohort 1, 19 (4%) identified as Hispanic or Latino/a, 79 (17%) as non-Hispanic Asian, 40 (9%) as non-Hispanic Black or African American, and 306 (64%) as non-Hispanic White; 62 (13%) participants identified their sexual orientation as bisexual or pansexual, 359 (75.1%) as heterosexual or straight, and 53 (11%) as gay or lesbian. In cohort 2, out of 440 participants, 13 (3%) identified as Hispanic or Latino/a, 8 (2%) as non-Hispanic Asian, 5 (1%) as non-Hispanic Black or African American, and 398 (90.5%) as non-Hispanic White; 41 (9%) participants identified their sexual orientation as bisexual or pansexual, 384 (87.3%) as heterosexual or straight, and 13 (3%) as gay or lesbian. The overall enrollment rate for individuals was 66.14% and the overall completion rate was 80.08%.
CONCLUSIONS: We discuss best practices for collecting online survey data for studies examining relationships and health, challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, recruitment of underrepresented populations, and enrollment of dyads. Recommendations include conducting pilot studies, allowing for extra time in the data collection timeline for marginalized or underserved populations, surplus screening to account for expected attrition within dyads, as well as planning dyad-specific data quality checks.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/48516.

BACKGROUND: Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is a profound and often very stressful experience. Few studies have prospectively recruited patients prior to receiving a new diagnosis of cancer and included spouses or partners.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the Couples Cope Study is to understand the impact of undergoing a diagnostic biopsy and receiving a new cancer diagnosis on quality of life (QoL) in both patients and their spouses or partners, as well as on the quality of their relationship. This protocol paper describes the study design and assesses the feasibility of recruitment and retention.
METHODS: Study staff reviewed the schedules of collaborating physicians using specific encounter codes to identify patients scheduled for breast or prostate biopsies. Potential participants were prescreened via the electronic health record and sent a recruitment letter at least 2 to 3 weeks prior to their biopsy procedure. Patients subsequently underwent a phone screening to determine eligibility. Patients who enrolled provided study staff with contact information for their spouses or partners. All consent forms were completed online. Surveys were completed online prior to receiving the biopsy results (baseline), and at 1, 3, 6, and 9 months after the biopsy. Study staff engaged in ongoing, personalized contact with participants and sent assessment completion reminders via phone and email.
RESULTS: A total of 2294 patients undergoing a breast or prostate biopsy were identified and 69% (n=1582) were eligible for phone screening following electronic health record prescreening. Of the 431 patients who underwent phone screening, 75% (n=321) were eligible to participate. Of the eligible patients, 72% (n=231) enrolled and 82% (n=190) of enrolled patients had an accompanying partner or spouse who also enrolled. A total of 77% (34/44) of patients who received a cancer diagnosis and 72% (26/36) of their spouses or partners were retained through 9 months, while 80% (53/66) of patients who received a benign diagnosis and 68% (42/62) of their partners were retained.
CONCLUSIONS: Prospective recruitment of patients undergoing diagnostic biopsy and their partners is feasible and requires both strategic collaboration with providers and concerted prescreening and recruitment efforts by study staff. Importantly, this study was able to conduct all study activities online without disrupting clinical workflow and without requiring patients and their spouses or partners to come into the laboratory. Consideration should be given to the ratio of biopsies to cancer diagnoses, which can vary significantly by cancer type. Prospective studies are needed and can inform our ability to provide effective support earlier to couples facing a possible cancer diagnosis. Future studies should examine other tumor types that have received less attention in QoL studies, include behavioral and neurobiological assessments beyond self-report measures, and follow couples beyond 9 months in order to examine long-term effects on QoL.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/52361.

OBJECTIVE: With the increase in the prevalence rate and improvements in the survival of breast cancer patients, there is a growing interest in understanding the level of psychosocial adjustment in these patients. The study aimed to describe the illness perception and psychosocial adjustment levels of both breast cancer patients and their spouses, to use the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to clarify the actor-partner relationships between spouses, and to explore the impact of illness perception on psychosocial adjustment to the disease within the joint actions of both spouses.
METHODS: A total of 216 female patients with breast cancer and their spouses participated in the study. They were selected from two tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province, China from October 2022 to May 2023 using a convenience sampling method. The participants were assessed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale to examine the relationship between illness perception and psychosocial adjustment. AMOS24.0 was used to test and analyze the actor-partner interdependence model.
RESULTS: The illness perception score (57.75 ± 10.91) was slightly higher than that of the spouse (57.10 ± 11.00), and the psychosocial adjustment score (64.67 ± 6.33) was slightly lower than that of the spouse (64.76 ± 7.49). The results of the actor-partner interdependence model indicated that there was a couple partner between breast cancer patients and their spouses: the spouse\'s illness perception significantly affected the patient\'s psychosocial adjustment (β = 0.095, p = 0.015); the patient\'s illness perception also significantly affected the spouse\'s psychosocial adjustment (β = 0.106, p = 0.033). Among them, the patient\'s psychosocial adjustment was found to be related to the patient\'s illness comprehensibility or coherence of illness (β = 0.433, p = 0.009), the spouse\'s emotional illness representation (β = 0.218, p = 0.037), and the spouse\'s illness comprehensibility or coherence of illness (β = 0.416, p = 0.007), while the spouse\'s psychosocial adjustment was only related to the spouse\'s illness comprehensibility or coherence of illness (β = 0.528, p = 0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: The psychosocial adjustment of breast cancer patients is affected by both their own and spouse\'s illness perception. Therefore, in the future, the healthcare staff can implement early psychological interventions for patients diagnosed with breast cancer and their spouses as a unit to promote the psychosocial adjustment of them.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of dyadic coping on quality of life (QoL) and the mediating role of resilience in these effects among young and middle-aged couples after gynecologic cancer (GC).
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between July 2022 and June 2023 from one tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China. 240 pairs of young and middle-aged GC couples were recruited. The demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the Dyadic Coping Inventory, the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey were used to collect data. The process of dyadic analysis was based on the actor-partner interdependence mediation model.
RESULTS: GC patients\' dyadic coping had an actor effect on both their own physical and mental QoL, while spouses\' dyadic coping only exerted an actor effect on their own mental QoL. The mediating effects of resilience on the relationship between dyadic coping and QoL were identified in dyads. Moreover, spouses\' dyadic coping could indirectly influence patients\' QoL through their own and patients\' resilience.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirm the dyadic relationships between dyadic coping, resilience, and QoL among young and middle-aged couples facing GC. These results suggest that it is necessary to develop couple-based interventions to improve dyadic coping and resilience, thus enhancing the QoL of both members.

Background and Objective: There is insufficient evidence on whether the concordance of sociodemographic, behavioral, and nutritional characteristics between spouses correlates with the concordance of metabolic syndrome (MetS) between spouses, or if a spouse\'s characteristics are directly linked to their own MetS. This study seeks to evaluate the association between the concordance of characteristics and the concordance of MetS in couples and investigate whether a spouse\'s attributes are linked to their partner\'s MetS. Methods: Analyzing data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019-2021, 1824 couples with complete data, including MetS parameters, sociodemographic details, health behaviors, and dietary information, were included. General linear model and logistic regression were employed. Results: Among couples, 10.7% exhibited concordant MetS, with spousal concordance ranging from 1.3% to 81.5% for nonoptimal characteristics. Multivariate analysis revealed that the odds of both partners having MetS increased by 1.04-1.61 times with a higher mean age of the couple and higher concordance in lower education, poor subjective health, insufficient strength exercise, and excessive carbohydrate consumption. When accounting for both individual and spousal factors, the odds of MetS rose with the higher mean age of the couple, having a spouse with MetS, their own characteristics (lower education, poor subjective health, insufficient strength exercise, and sedentary behavior for husbands and wives; alcohol consumption and insufficient walking for husbands; and excessive carbohydrate intake for wives), and spousal factors such as smoking (in husbands) and lower education, lower economic status, and excessive carbohydrate intake (in wives). In wives, spousal sedentary behavior and poor subjective health were linked to decreased odds. Conclusions: The findings suggest a connection between MetS concordance and shared characteristics in couples, as well as an association between both spousal MetS status and characteristics and their own MetS.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between dyadic coping and family resistance in colorectal cancer patients and their spouses.
METHODS: 178 pairs of colorectal cancer patients and their spouses hospitalized in a three tertiary hospital in Changsha were selected from July 2021 to March 2022. The Family Resilience Assessment Scale and the Dyadic Coping Inventory were used to investigate, which relationship was analyzed by APIM.
RESULTS: The total score of patients\' dyadic coping was 121.51 ± 16.8, and spouses\' score was 123.72 ± 16.6. The total score of family resilience was 176.42 ± 16.0, and spouses\' score was 182.72 ± 17.03. There was a significant positive relationship between dyadic coping and family resistance of colorectal cancer patients and their spouses (r > 0.7, P < 0.001). The positive dyadic coping of colorectal cancer patients and their spouses had a positive effect on their own and their spouses\' family resilience and the effect was the same. The negative dyadic coping of colorectal cancer patients and their spouses had a negative impact on their own family resilience, and the overall model showed a subject pattern.
CONCLUSIONS: The level of family resilience of colorectal cancer patients and their spouses was affected by the level of dyadic coping. Medical workers should regard patients and their spouses as a whole and formulate mutually supportive coping strategies with family as the center, so as to increase positive coping behavior and enhance their family\'s ability to cope with cancer.

The relationship between perceived spousal support and activities of daily living in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is unclear.
The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between spousal support perceived by those with COPD and their activities of daily living.
This study was a cross-sectional and descriptive study. Data collection was conducted between September 2022 and April 2023. A Data Gathering Form, the Spousal Support Scale, and the London Chest Activity of Daily Living Scale were used to collect data. A total of 132 adults were included in this study.
The mean (SD) scores of individuals with COPD for perceived spousal support and activities of daily living were 62.40 (14.66) and 32.91 (15.72), respectively. Levels of perceived spousal support and activities of daily living varied according to sex, employment status, admission to the emergency service or hospitalization, use of antidepressants, and the severity of the illness (P < .05). Those with better spousal support felt less dyspnea when performing the activities of daily living (r = -0.205, P < .05).
Knowing the potential factors affecting perceived spousal support and activities of daily living can provide an opportunity to determine appropriate strategies to increase the level of independence of individuals with COPD. Educational interventions to help spouses understand COPD may help increase spousal support.

UNASSIGNED: Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory skin condition characterized by erythema, papules, and scales. It imposes a heavy psychological and social strain on both patients and their families. Surprisingly, there\'s limited research delving into the disease burden and coping strategies of spouses contending with psoriasis.
UNASSIGNED: The objective is to explore the disease burden faced and coping strategies utilized by spouses of individuals living with psoriasis. This exploration aims to offer insights crucial for devising mental health support and intervention strategies.
UNASSIGNED: The research methodology employed in this study was phenomenological, a qualitative approach. A total of fifteen spouses of patients with psoriasis were selected using an objective sampling method for in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was then applied to the recorded interview data to derive meaningful themes.
UNASSIGNED: This study has identified and analyzed three core themes concerning the disease burden and coping strategies of spouses of patients with psoriasis: Overwhelming disease burden; Lack of support system; Coping strategies (Problem - centered coping strategies: Proactive acquisition of disease knowledge; Active confrontation of illness - related issues; Behavioral habit alteration; and Emotional - centered coping strategies: Active acceptance and normalization; Passive acceptance and internalized stigma; Avoidance of disease - related problems).
UNASSIGNED: This study adds valuable insights into comprehending the disease burden encountered by spouses of patients with psoriasis and sheds light on the coping strategies they employ. Healthcare providers should proactively recognize and address the burden experienced by spouses early on. Establishing a robust support network is crucial, and promoting adaptive coping strategies can significantly aid spouses in effectively navigating and managing the complexities associated with psoriasis.

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC), which is characterized by chronic relapsing inflammation of the colon, results from a complex interaction of factors involving the host, environment, and microbiome. The present study aimed to investigate the gut microbial composition and metabolic variations in patients with UC and their spouses. Materials and Methods: Fecal samples were collected from 13 healthy spouses and couples with UC. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metagenomics sequencing were used to analyze gut microbiota composition, pathways, gene expression, and enzyme activity, followed by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Results: We found that the microbiome diversity of couples with UC decreased, especially that of UC patients. Bacterial composition, such as Firmicutes, was altered between UC patients and healthy controls, but was not significantly different between UC patients and their spouses. This has also been observed in pathways, such as metabolism, genetic information processing, organismal systems, and human diseases. However, the genes and enzymes of spouses with UC were not significantly different from those of healthy individuals. Furthermore, the presence of Faecalibacterium correlated with oxidative phosphorylation, starch and sucrose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, and the bacterial secretion system, showed a marked decline in the UC group compared with their spouses, but did not vary between healthy couples. Conclusion: Our study revealed that cohabitation with UC patients decreased differences in the gut microbiome between healthy individuals and patients. Not only was the composition and diversity of the microbiota diminished, but active pathways also showed some decline. Furthermore, Firmicutes, Faecalibacterium, and the four related pathways may be associated with the pathological state of the host rather than with human behavior.