Does marriage matter?: marital status as a moderator of the relationship between emotion regulation and impact of seizures

Seizure disorders are a widespread health concern (England, Liverman, Schultz, & Strawbridge, 2012). Past research shows that a good quality marital relationship can have numerous health benefits (Homish & Leonard, 2008); however, there is little evidence to show that individuals suffering from seizures are receiving any of these marital benefits. Instead, most research suggests that individuals with a seizure disorder are significantly less likely to marry, have more marital conflict, and report the seizures as a main reason for divorce (Chen, et al., 2013). The current study included 67 individuals who self-reported that they suffered from a seizure disorder. These individuals took part in an online survey that included questions about their experience with seizures, their strategies for managing emotions, and their relationship (marital) status. It was hypothesized that individuals who were married would report fewer emotion regulation difficulties and be less impacted by their seizures than those who were unmarried. The results of this study showed that: 1) married and unmarried individuals did not differ in reported emotion regulation difficulties; 2) contrary to predictions, married individuals were more impacted by their seizures than unmarried individuals; 3) greater emotion regulation difficulties (specifically difficulty accepting emotions and difficulty carrying out goal-directed behavior when upset) were associated with a greater perceived impact of seizures on one’s life; and 4) marriage moderated the relationship between emotion regulation difficulties and impact of seizures, such that difficulty accepting emotions predicted a greater impact of seizures on one’s life for married but not unmarried individuals. This was not the case for another facet of emotion regulation measured, namely difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior when upset. An important conclusion from this study is that a failure to accept emotions may be more likely to contribute to seizure impact among married than unmarried individuals. Promoting acceptance of emotions, perhaps in the context of one’s marital relationship as well as in general, may be beneficial for individuals suffering from a seizure disorder.