The impact of illness perception on marital quality among patients with cervical cancer and their husbands: based on actor-partner interdependence mediation model.
To describe the illness perception, dyadic coping, and marital quality of cervical cancer patient-husband dyads. In addition, we explore the direct effects of illness perception on marital quality, and whether dyadic coping acts as a mediator in this process. A cross-sectional design was employed. The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire for Cervical Cancer, the Dyadic Coping Inventory, and the Marital Adjustment Test were used to assess illness perception, dyadic coping, and marital quality. Dyadic analysis was conducted by constructing the actor‒partner interdependence mediation model. A total of 175 dyads of postoperative cervical cancer patients and their husbands completed the questionnaires. The dyads reported suboptimal scores for both marital quality and dyadic coping. For direct effects of illness perception on marital quality, our model indicated that the positive illness perception of patients and negative illness perception of husbands can negatively impact their own marital quality. With respect to the indirect effects of dyadic coping acting as a mediator, both positive illness perception and negative illness perception of husbands can impact their own marital quality through their own dyadic coping and can also impact patients' marital quality through patients' dyadic coping. This study highlights that the level of marital quality and dyadic coping in dyads need to be improved, demonstrates the significance of illness perception for influencing dyads' marital quality and reveals the underlying mediating mechanism of dyadic coping. This study provides guidance for illness perception-based dyadic interventions to improve marital quality among cervical cancer patients and husbands.
