Dyadic appraisal and dyadic coping in breast cancer couples: Family resources as mediators in an actor‒partner interdependence mediation model

To examine the dyadic associations between dyadic appraisal and dyadic coping in dyads of breast cancer couples and the mediating role of family resilience and function in these associations. This study employed a multicenter cross-sectional research design with a sample of 252 dyads of breast cancer couples hospitalized in five tertiary hospitals in China from May-November 2023. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Dyadic Coping Inventory, Chinese Family Resilience Assessment and Chinese Family Function Scale were used to conduct the survey, and the Actor‒Partner Interdependence Mediation Model was applied. The results revealed significant actor effects; specifically, patients' and spouses' dyadic appraisals influenced their own coping behaviors via family resilience/function. Notably asymmetric partner effects emerged: spouses' family resilience/function mediated the spouse appraisal→patient coping pathway, but not vice versa. Both family resilience and family function showed significant mediation. The findings confirmed that dyadic appraisal influences couples' ability to cope through family resources, demanding role-contextualized refinements to dyadic models. Interventions targeting family resilience and function may improve couples' adaptive outcomes during breast cancer treatment.