Dyadic Coping, Resilience and Post-Traumatic Growth in Young and Middle-Aged Coronary Heart Disease Patients and Their Spousal Caregivers: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model

AimsThis study was to explore the mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between dyadic coping and post-traumatic growth in patient-spousal caregiver dyads living with coronary heart disease (CHD).DesignA cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2022 to June 2023.MethodsThree hundred eighteen young and middle-aged patient-spousal caregiver dyads from a tertiary hospital in China participated. The dyadic participants were evaluated using self-report questionnaires on dyadic coping, resilience and post-traumatic growth.ResultsA significant actor effect was observed, in which dyadic coping in patients was associated with their own post-traumatic growth; this relationship was partially mediated by both the patient's and the partner's resilience. Furthermore, in the examination of partner effects, the association between dyadic coping in spousal caregivers and post-traumatic growth in patients was found to be completely mediated by the resilience of both the patients and the caregivers.ConclusionThe findings suggest that the dyadic coping, resilience and post-traumatic growth of patients and their spousal caregivers display interactive effects. Healthcare providers treating CHD should regard patient-spousal caregiver dyads as a whole and implement interventions that focus on improving positive dyadic coping and resilience to promote post-traumatic growth.ImpactThis paper found that the patients with CHD and their spousal caregivers exhibited low levels of post-traumatic growth, with both groups demonstrating mediating and interactive effects via resilience. The findings offer valuable insights to support the early primary identification and implementation of more effective intervention strategies aimed at fostering post-traumatic growth in CHD patient-spousal caregiver dyads.Patient or Public ContributionNot applicable.