Mindful Awareness and Stress Associations Among People Living With the Effects of Stroke and their Partners: Findings From a Daily Diary Study

OBJECTIVE: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, significantly affecting the health of individuals post stroke and their partners. Both people living with the effects of stroke (PLWS) and their partners experience elevated stress. Therefore, this daily diary study examined day-to-day variations in stress and its association with mindful awareness as a potential protective factor against stress within and between PLWS and their partners. METHODS: Eighty-six community-dwelling couples (67±10 y old, 50% female) in Canada, with one partner living with the effects of stroke, reported their daily stress, their partners' stress, and their own mindful awareness every evening for up to 14 days. RESULTS: Distinguishable dyads models showed that individuals reporting that their partners felt more stressed (daily and overall), and whose partners felt more stressed (daily and overall) reported more daily stress themselves. In contrast, when individuals reported more mindful awareness (daily and overall), they reported less daily stress. PLWS also reported less daily stress when their partners reported more overall mindful awareness. However, this dyadic association was not found in the other direction or for daily mindful awareness. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest dyadic associations of daily stress between partners and indicate that mindful awareness may reduce daily stress within individuals. Within the dyad, PLWS seemed to benefit from their partners' mindful awareness. Results highlight the significant role of the partner for PLWS and emphasize the need to consider how interpersonal dynamics vary, particularly in couples managing medical conditions. REGISTRATION: The study was preregistered at OSF (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/XTV2H).