Religious coping may affect couples dealing with type 2 diabetes

A new study indicates that spousal engagement in shared glycemic control activities—such as planning a healthy diet—may help patients with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels.

Also, the use of negative religious coping by the diabetic spouse was linked with lower levels of shared activities, while positive religious coping by the nondiabetic spouse was associated with higher levels.

Positive religious coping includes strategies such as reinterpreting the stressor as beneficial, appreciating God's love and care, and seeing God as a partner.

In contrast, negative religious coping reflects tensions and spiritual struggle involving, for example, doubt about God's love and care, believing that the devil produced the stressor, or concerns about being abandoned by God or one's religious community.

For the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy study, 87 couples where one spouse had type 2 diabetes were surveyed. The findings suggest that religious coping and shared glycemic control activities may be integral to couples managing type 2 diabetes.