Dyadic coping and resilience in Chinese female patients with connective tissue disease and their spouses: an actor-partner interdependence model analysis

Background Connective tissue disease (CTD), being an incurable lifelong condition, is significantly correlated with patients’ psychological well-being during prolonged treatment. This study aims to offer insights into improving mental health by examining the relationship between dyadic coping and psychological resilience in patients and their spouses. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology at the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University between October 2023 and October 2024. Guided by the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, this study analyzed the relationship between dyadic coping and psychological resilience in female patients and their spouses. Results A total of 231 couples were included in the study, and 68.40% of female respondents were less than 35 years old; 70.56% of couples lived in urban. About 93.07% of females and 96.54% of males were employed; 16.88% of females did not know about CTD, and 15.15% of their spouses did not know about CTD. The average scores in resilience of patients and spouses were 64.913 (SD = 16.592) and 64.970 (SD = 19.973); The positive dyadic coping scores of the patients and their spouses were 102.351 ± 20.737 and 101.476 ± 21.854, the scores of negative dyadic coping were 20.108 ± 10.566 and 20.416 ± 10.431. In the path analysis of APIM, patients’ higher dyadic coping was associated with their own greater resilience, yet patients’ higher dyadic coping correlated with spouses’ lower resilience in Model 1, and positive dyadic coping was positively associated with one’s own resilience (actor effect), but the spouse-to-patient partner path was not significant in Model 2. Furthermore, the partner effect between patients’ positive dyadic coping and spouses’ resilience was positively associated. The path analysis of the actor effect and partner effect between negative dyadic coping and resilience showed that couples’ dyadic coping negatively correlated with resilience. Conclusion The findings indicated that dyadic coping levels were significantly associated with psychological resilience, particularly negative dyadic coping. Connective tissue diseases require long-term management, and positive dyadic coping was positively associated with patients’ own resilience (actor effect), whereas the partner effect of spouses’ positive dyadic coping on patients’ resilience was not significant.