When Times Get Tough: Savoring and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples Coping with a Stressful Life Event

Patterns and influencing factors of savoring in caregivers of advanced cancer patients: a latent profile study

OBJECTIVE

Caregivers' positive affect benefits patients' and their well-being. Savoring is one important emotion regulation strategy to manage positive affect. Limited information about patterns of savoring hinders the development of targeted interventions to promote cancer caregivers' emotional well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify latent patterns of savoring and investigate influencing factors associated with the identified patterns among caregivers of people with advanced cancer.

METHODS

Latent profile analysis was performed to identify savoring patterns based on savoring beliefs and strategies in 404 informal caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. Multinomial logistic regression analysis examined associated factors regarding different savoring profiles.

RESULTS

Three latent profiles of savoring were identified. Individuals in high level of savoring (HS, 33.4%) showed the highest level of savoring and positive affect. Compared with HS, caregivers in low level of savoring (LS, 9.4%) and medium level of savoring (MS, 57.2%) showed lower savoring and lower positive affect. Active coping(βMS = -0.109, βLS = -0.252, p<0.001)was the strongest protecting factor for both MS and LS, while passive coping (β = 0.146, p = 0.008) was a risk factor for LS. Non-assistance from others (β = 0.677, p = 0.015) and unemployment (β = 1.287, p = 0.007)were the strongest risk factors for the MS and LS subgroup, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregivers' savoring patterns appear to vary at different levels. Oncological professionals should pay attention to caregivers with passive coping, unemployment, and lack of assistance for designing targeted savoring training to promote emotional well-being.

Perceived Emotional Invalidation, Psychological Distress and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Analysis

Research has demonstrated a clear link between perceived emotional invalidation and increased psychological distress. However, available studies have predominantly focused on individual data, and leave the impact on relationship satisfaction largely unexplored. Considering the systemic-transactional model, our study aimed to examine the association between perceived emotional invalidation, psychological distress, and couple relationship satisfaction from a dyadic perspective. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 240 mixed-gender couples from Portugal employing the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediational Model to analyse the data to examine actor and partner direct and indirect effects. Results showed that, for both women and men, own perceived emotional invalidation was associated with own psychological distress but not with own relationship satisfaction. Also, own psychological distress was associated with own relationship satisfaction but only for women. Finally, one actor and one partner indirect effects were found. Women perceived emotional invalidation was associated with their own psychological distress which in turn contributed to lower levels of relationship satisfaction for both them and their partners. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the dyadic effects of perceived emotional invalidation on psychological distress and relationship satisfaction within romantic relationships identifying interpersonal emotional dynamics as an important target of interventions.

Using a Socio-Ecological Framework to Understand Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The formation and maintenance of satisfying romantic relationships, a developmental milestone for many emerging adults, has been challenged by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the impact of COVID-19 stress on relationship satisfaction has not been explored within the context of individual and relationship factors. Guided by a socio-ecological framework, this study used a longitudinal design to investigate the impact of individual-level (i.e., growth beliefs, destiny beliefs), couple-level (i.e., daily criticism), and societal-level (i.e., COVID-19 stress) factors on relationship satisfaction during Fall 2021. We also explored the moderating effects of destiny beliefs and growth beliefs. Results revealed relationship satisfaction was negatively associated with daily criticism, but not directly associated with destiny beliefs, growth beliefs, or COVID-19 stress. However, growth beliefs buffered against the negative impact of criticism on relationship satisfaction. These findings are consistent with the notion that growth beliefs may play a protective role in relationship processes.

Savoring Interventions Increase Positive Emotions After a Social-Evaluative Hassle

Achieving a high quality of life is dependent upon how individuals face adversity. Positive psychological interventions are well-suited to support coping efforts; however, experimental research is limited. The purpose of the current research was to examine whether different savoring interventions could increase important coping resources (i.e., positive emotions) in response to a social-evaluative hassle. We completed an experimental mixed subject design study with a university student sample. All participants completed a hassle induction task and were then randomly assigned into different intervention groups. Positive emotion ratings were collected at three points in time (baseline, post-induction task, post-intervention). Results revealed a significant time x intervention interaction effect, such that individuals in the savoring the moment intervention reported higher levels of positive emotions (at post-intervention) compared to individuals assigned to the true control group, guided imagery control group, and savoring through reminiscence intervention. Such findings represent a significant extension to savoring theory and offer support for savoring the moment exercises as a primary prevention strategy to bolster effective responses to social-evaluative hassles.

Current Progress and Future Directions for Theory and Research on Savoring

As research on savoring has increased dramatically since publication of the book Savoring: A New Model of Positive Experience (Bryant and Veroff, 2007), savoring has gradually become a core concept in positive psychology. I begin by reviewing the evolution of this concept, the development of instruments for assessing savoring ability and savoring strategies, and the wide range of applications of savoring in the psychosocial and health sciences. I then consider important directions for future theory and research. To advance our understanding of how naturalistic savoring unfolds over time, future work should integrate the perceptual judgments involved in not only the later stages of attending to and regulating positive experience (where past research has concentrated), but also the initial stages of searching for and noticing positive stimuli. Whereas most research has investigated reactive savoring, which occurs spontaneously in response to positive events or feelings, future work is also needed on proactive savoring, which begins with the deliberate act of seeking out or creating positive stimuli. To advance the measurement of savoring-related constructs, I recommend future work move beyond retrospective self-report methods toward the assessment of savoring as it occurs in real-time. The development of new methods of measuring meta-awareness and the regulation of attentional focus are crucial to advancing our understanding of savoring processes. I review recent research on the neurobiological correlates of savoring and suggest future directions in which to expand such work. I highlight the need for research aimed at unraveling the developmental processes through which savoring skills and deficits evolve and the role that savoring impairments play in the etiology and maintenance of psychopathology. Research is also needed to learn more about what enhances savoring, and to disentangle how people regulate the intensity versus duration of positive emotions. Finally, I encourage future researchers to integrate the study of anticipation, savoring the moment, and reminiscence within individuals across time.

Stress, savouring, and coping: The role of savouring in psychological adjustment following a stressful life event

There is increasing research on the role of savouring positive emotional experience in the context of stress. As such, we need a better understanding of how savouring and coping relate to each other and to psychological adjustment outcomes following a stressful life event. In particular, this study seeks to understand whether savouring is better conceptualized as a coping resource or a coping response. Three hundred people who experienced a highly stressful event in the past year completed measures of impact of event, savouring, coping, positive emotions, depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction. Results of bivariate correlations showed that savouring is positively correlated with positive coping (i.e., mastery and meaning-based coping) and socially-supported coping (i.e., using emotional and instrumental support) and negatively correlated with negative coping (i.e., self-judgement and avoidance coping). The results of path analyses support a model that positions savouring as a coping response that relates to other coping responses and indirectly relates to better psychological adjustment through positive emotions (when psychological adjustment is conceptualized as depression or life satisfaction but not anxiety). Findings provide preliminary support for conceptualizing savouring as a coping response; future research should consider measuring savouring as a coping response to further our understanding of savouring following a stressful life event.