Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder which impacts the person’s physical, psychological and relational well-being, and the well-being of their romantic partner, who is often in a caregiving role. People with PD may struggle to empathize with and respond to their partner’s emotional states, which can hinder relationship satisfaction for both partners. Care partners, who may feel burnt out from caring for their partner’s physical and cognitive needs, may be limited in their ability to be responsive to their spouse’s relational needs, which can hinder satisfaction. Despite the challenges faced by couples coping with PD, little work has considered the interpersonal factors associated with relationship satisfaction for affected couples. In the current study, we investigated individual differences in the motivation to be responsive to a partner’s needs (i.e., communal strength), as well as perceptions of a partner’s responsiveness (i.e., the extent to which a person perceives their partner to care for, validate, and understand them). We recruited 20 couples in which one partner was diagnosed with PD and their romantic partner self-identified as a full-time caregiver, in order to examine how responsiveness is associated with both partners’ relationship satisfaction. When partners with PD reported higher communal strength, they reported higher relationship satisfaction and so did their care partner. When partners with PD perceived their care partner to be more responsive, they reported higher relationship satisfaction. These findings provide some preliminary evidence for responsiveness as one interpersonal factor worthy of further consideration for helping couples cope with PD.

帕金森病 (PD) 是一种神经退行性疾病，会影响人的身体、心理和人际关系幸福感，以及他们的浪漫伴侣的幸福感，后者通常扮演着照顾者的角色。患有 PD 的人可能难以理解和回应伴侣的情绪状态，这可能会阻碍双方的关系满意度。照顾伴侣可能会因为照顾伴侣的身体和认知需求而感到筋疲力尽，他们对配偶的关系需求做出反应的能力可能会受到限制，这可能会阻碍满足感。尽管应对 PD 的夫妇面临挑战，但很少有工作考虑与受影响夫妇的关系满意度相关的人际关系因素。在目前的研究中，我们调查了响应伴侣需求的动机（即公共力量）的个体差异，以及对伴侣响应能力的看法（即一个人认为他们的伴侣关心、确认和理解他们的程度） ）。我们招募了 20 对夫妇，其中一位伴侣被诊断为 PD，他们的浪漫伴侣自称是全职照顾者，以检查反应能力如何与伴侣双方的关系满意度相关联。当患有 PD 的合作伙伴报告更高的社区力量时，他们报告更高的关系满意度，他们的护理伙伴也是如此。当患有 PD 的合作伙伴认为他们的护理伙伴反应更快时，他们报告的关系满意度更高。