Patients' relational entitlement, partners' caregiving style and cardiac patients' medication taking

Abstract

Background: Partners' support has been associated with both patients' increased and decreased inclination toward health-promoting behaviors. Our hypothesis for understanding this enigma is that it is the interplay between partners' manner of care provision and patients' ability to accept these care efforts that may best predict patients' adherence. The proposed presentation will describe the results of a longitudinal study designed to examine whether the interaction among cardiac patients' sense of relational entitlement (i.e., restrictive, exaggerated, expectations and assertive) and their partners' caregiving styles (i.e., sensitive and compulsive) contributes to patients level of medication taking. Methods: A sample of 114 male patients diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) and their female partners were interviewed during patients' hospitalizations and six month later. The Adult Caregiving questionnaire was administered to partners, and the Sense of Relational Entitlement Scale (SRE) was administered to patients. The Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) was applied. Findings: Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed the interaction hypothesis: the lowest levels of medication adherence were detected among patients high on restricted entitlement who were married to partners high on compulsive caregiving style. Discussion: the negative aspect of relational entitlement on medication adherence was evident only when partners' caregiving was deficient. These findings strengthen our claim that it is the interaction between recipients’ personality and providers’ support style which explain self-regulatory processes that arise during times of family medical crises.