Disability, Benefit Finding, Mutuality and Quality of Life Among Young- to Middle-Aged Stroke Couples

This work aimed to explore the relationship between disability and quality of life (QoL) among young- to middle-aged stroke couples; with benefit finding and mutuality as mediators, a longitudinal actor-partner interdependence mediation model was employed.

This study was an observational longitudinal study.

The data for this study were derived from a longitudinal study conducted in China from October 2021 to July 2022. The data collection occurred at four time points: 1-2 days before discharge, and 1, 3 and 6 months post-discharge. A total of 203 young- to middle-aged stroke couples were recruited. The severity of disability in stroke survivors, along with benefit finding, mutuality and QoL in stroke couples, was measured. A longitudinal actor-partner interdependence mediation model was used to analyse the relationships between disability, benefit finding, mutuality and QoL in stroke couples.

Benefit finding 1 month post-discharge mediated the relationships between survivors' disability before discharge and their physical and mental QoL at 6 months post-discharge, as well as the spouse's mental QoL. Additionally, stroke survivors' benefit finding 1 month post-discharge and the mutuality of stroke couples at 3 months post-discharge mediated the relationship between survivors' disability before discharge and the spouse's physical QoL in a chain manner. Survivors' benefit finding 1 month post-discharge and spouses' mutuality at 3 months post-discharge mediated the relationship between survivors' disability before discharge and the survivors' physical QoL in a chain manner.

Stroke survivors' benefit finding and the mutuality of stroke couples can mitigate the impact of survivors' disability on both the physical and mental QoL of the couple. Therefore, interventions targeting benefit finding and mutuality should be considered, treating stroke survivors and their spouses as a unified whole in the intervention process.