Examining Re And Emotional Distress In Population With Existing Cardiovascular Disease And/Or Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors And Those Without

Keywords

cardiovascular disease; emotional distress; relationship education

Abstract

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of death in the United States (Hoyert & Xu, 2012), and low-income and ethnic minorities are disproportionally affected. Relationship education (RE) interventions have been shown to improve relationship quality and reduce distress in individuals and couples, including low-income and ethnic minority populations. This study examined the effect of an evidenced-based, individual-oriented, RE intervention, within my reach, (WMR), on emotional distress in a population of mostly low-income and ethnic minority individuals with existing CV disease and/or CV disease risk factors (CVD) to those without disease or risk factors (non-CVD). Results showed significant improvements in overall distress for both the CVD and non-CVD groups, but neither group improved significantly more than the other. The authors found similar changes in distress levels when we examined a subset of the population that met the criteria for clinical distress. Also, data showed that CVD participants presented with significantly greater overall distress than non-CVD participants. These findings are consistent with prior research that showed the effectiveness of the WMR curriculum in stress reduction. Furthermore, this study contributes knowledge about a unique population, individuals with CV disease and/or CVD, who may greatly benefit from interventions focused on stress reduction.

Publication Date

10-1-2017

Publication Title

Family Journal

Volume

25

Issue

4

Number of Pages

291-300

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480717732306

Socpus ID

85040363768 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85040363768

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