Daily closeness discrepancies and marital interaction quality in the context of chronic pain: mediating effect of loneliness

Background and Objectives: Feelings of closeness are key to individual and relational well-being. However, individuals may desire different degrees of relationship closeness compared to the actual closeness they feel with their partners. Such discrepancies in closeness may affect marital interaction quality, especially in the context of chronic pain. This study aimed to investigate associations of daily closeness discrepancies with same-day marital interaction quality and the potential mediating effect of same-day loneliness among older individuals with chronic back pain (ICBPs; N = 147) and their partners. Research Design and Methods: Participants reported daily actual and desired closeness, marital interaction quality, and loneliness for 30 days. Closeness discrepancy was defined by the absolute value of actual closeness minus desired closeness. Separate multilevel models were run for ICBPs and partners, and the Monte Carlo method was employed in multilevel mediation models. Results: Closeness discrepancies on a given day were significantly related to decreased marital interaction quality that day in both ICBPs and partners, and such daily associations were in part explained by loneliness that day. Specifically, on days when participants reported greater closeness discrepancies, their levels of loneliness were also higher, and loneliness was in turn related to less positive and more negative marital interaction quality. These associations remained significant after including all covariates. Discussion and Implications: Findings provide evidence for the daily dynamics of closeness discrepancies and marital interaction quality in the context of chronic pain and suggest loneliness as an indirect psychosocial pathway linking such daily associations in late life.