AUTHOR=Ştefănuţ Adelina Mihaela , Vintilă Mona , Bădău Larisa Maria , Grujic Daciana , Oprean Cristina Marinela , Goian Cosmin , Sârbescu Paul TITLE=Perception of disease, dyadic coping, and the quality of life of oncology patients in the active treatment phase and their life partners: an approach based on the actor-partner interdependence model JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1069767 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1069767 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=Objective

The aim of this study based on the Systemic Transactional Model was to examine the relationship between dyadic coping and (1) disease perception and (2) quality of life of a sample of cancer patients and their life partners.

Method

This cross-sectional study included 138 oncological dyads. The following questionnaires were used: Stress Appraisal Measure, Dyadic Coping Inventory, and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30. Data collected was analysed by applying the actor-partner interdependence model.

Results

The perception of the disease as a threat as well as its centrality significantly negatively influences the positive forms of dyadic coping whilst the perception of the disease as a challenge has a significant positive influence on them. Dyadic coping does not influence symptoms but has significant influences on global health/quality of life.

Conclusion

This study has highlighted new information regarding how couples cope with cancer. The results encourage the inclusion of the perception of the disease and dyadic coping in interventions that aim to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their life partners.