Dyadic coping profiles and emotional distress in Chinese infertile couples

Infertility is a shared stressor that affects both partners, yet heterogeneity in dyadic coping patterns and their associations with emotional distress remain insufficiently understood. This cross-sectional study enrolled 251 infertile couples from reproductive clinics in Hengyang, China. Participants completed the Dyadic Coping Inventory, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Latent profile analysis identified four dyadic coping profiles: Low Interaction and Mutual Disengagement (31.6%), Wife-Active and Husband-Supported (6.7%), Husband-Active and Wife-Passive (38.4%), and High Interaction and Mutual Engagement (23.3%). Mediation analyses showed that more adaptive illness perceptions were associated with lower anxiety and depression. Indirect associations via illness perception were observed for wives across adaptive profiles and for husbands in specific profiles, with cross-partner effects present only for anxiety. The findings indicate that dyadic coping among infertile couples is heterogeneous and differentially associated with emotional adjustment in wives and husbands. Longitudinal studies are needed to confirm these associations.