Examining discrepancies between actual and desired communal coping with type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has deleterious physiological, psychological, and relational effects both on people living with diabetes (PLWD) and on their family members. We employed the communal coping model to investigate whether coping alongside family members was advantageous. Specifically, PLWD (n = 213) and family members of PLWD (n = 208) completed an online survey assessing their coping responses and a variety of diabetes-related outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, relationship satisfaction, and self-care). Generally, results indicated that more communal coping was beneficial. However, a second goal of this study was to examine discrepancies between levels of actual communal coping and desired communal coping, and the findings from these analyses add nuance to the generally held belief that more communal coping is always better.