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Dyadic Coping Among Couples with COPD: A Pilot Study

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Abstract

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is associated with psychological distress for patients as well as their partners. Dyadic coping can be negatively impacted by stressors. This study’s objective was to compare the dyadic coping of couples in which one partner suffered from COPD with healthy couples of the same age. A total of 43 complete couples with COPD and 138 healthy couples participated in this pilot study. The surveys were sent by mail. The response rate of the COPD sample was 24.3%. In order to analyze the effect of gender and role (patient vs. partner) on dyadic coping, linear mixed models were calculated. To analyze the effect of gender and group (COPD group vs. normative comparison group) on dyadic coping, two-way analyses of variance were calculated for independent samples. COPD patients and their partners indicated that the patients received more support and were less able to provide support to their partners. This difference was also evident in comparison with the normative comparison group. In addition, couples with COPD perceived higher levels of negative coping and provided a considerably lower assessment of their positive dyadic coping. The dyadic coping of couples with COPD is unbalanced and more negative when compared to that of healthy couples. Interventions aimed at supporting COPD couples should seek to improve couples’ dyadic coping in addition to individual coping strategies.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made possible by financing and support from the Zurich Lung League (www.lungenliga-zh.ch) and preparation of this manuscript was supported by SNSF grant CRSI11_13304/1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland

    Caroline Meier, Hanspeter Moergeli & Josef Jenewein

  2. Institute of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Guy Bodenmann, Melanie Peter-Wight & Mike Martin

  3. Private Clinic Hohenegg, Meilen, Switzerland

    Stefan Buechi

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  1. Caroline Meier
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  2. Guy Bodenmann
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  3. Hanspeter Moergeli
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  4. Melanie Peter-Wight
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  5. Mike Martin
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  6. Stefan Buechi
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  7. Josef Jenewein
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Correspondence to Caroline Meier.

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Meier, C., Bodenmann, G., Moergeli, H. et al. Dyadic Coping Among Couples with COPD: A Pilot Study. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 19, 243–254 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-011-9279-7

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