Dyadic coping and illness adjustment after stroke: A longitudinal prospective study

To investigate associations between illness appraisals, dyadic coping, and illness adjustment in individuals with stroke and their healthy partners.

This longitudinal observational study examined dyadic data in 17 couples (patient and partner) after stroke. Patients and partners completed self-report measures on event centrality of the stroke (appraisal) at 2 months (t₁), common dyadic coping (CDC) at 5 months (t₂), and quality of life (adjustment) at 8 months (t₃) after the stroke. Dyadic data were analyzed using actor-partner interdependence models.

Higher event centrality at t₁ predicted more CDC at t₂ in patients (b = 0.38, p < .05). For partners, the effect of event centrality on dyadic coping differed significantly from the patients' effect but was not significant itself (b = -0.17, p = .601). More CDC at t2 predicted higher physical (b = 3.21, p < .05) and psychological quality of life at t₃ (b = 3.66, p < .05) for partners but not for patients.

Preliminary evidence suggests that patients and their healthy partners may endorse event centrality of the stroke differentially. Perceiving dyadic coping processes seems to be especially important to the healthy partners' illness adjustment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).