The dyadic associations among self-efficacy, dyadic coping, and health-related quality of life between high-risk pregnant women and spouses: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Quality of life research Vol. 33; no. 8; pp. 2235 - 2245
• Main Authors: Liu, Mengjie, Fang, Yu, Liu, Mengshi, Wu, Min, Zhang, Jingshuo, Niu, Tianchen, Zhang, Xiaoman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.08.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Couples; Cross-sectional studies; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Pregnancy; Public Health; Quality of life; Quality of Life Research; Self-efficacy; Sociology; Womens health; Health-related quality of life; Spouses; High-risk pregnancy; Perinatal care; The actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-024-03692-2

Aim Health-related quality of life(HRQoL) is essential for high-risk pregnant women and their spouses. This study aimed to explore the dyadic associations (including actor and partner effects) among self-efficacy, dyadic coping, and HRQoL of high-risk pregnant women and their spouses and examine the mediating effect of dyadic coping. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited participants from two Grade A tertiary hospitals in China from October 2022 to September 2023. A questionnaire including the Chinese version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale, Dyadic Coping Inventory, and 12 Short Form Health Survey Scales was used for the survey. The actor-partner interdependence mediation model was constructed to test dyadic associations and mediating effects. Results In the actor effects, self-efficacy was positively associated with dyadic coping and HRQoL ( P  < 0.05). Regarding partner effects, pregnant women’s self-efficacy was positively associated with spouses’ dyadic coping and physical health ( P  < 0.05). Dyadic coping partially mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and HRQoL for both groups( P  < 0.05). Conclusion The HRQoL of high-risk pregnant women and their spouses requires urgent attention. Enhancing self-efficacy and dyadic coping in these couples is related to their improved physical and mental health. Healthcare professionals should consider interactions between couples and include them together in perinatal care. Intervention programs for couples or families based on existing positive psychology and dyadic interventions may work together to improve the HRQoL of couples. Plain English summary In the context of high-risk pregnancy, the physical and mental health of high-risk pregnant women and their spouses can be impacted. However prior studies and current prenatal care have focused less on the overall health of these couples, especially their spouses. This study overcame the drawback of focusing only on one party’s health by involving both parties in a survey and evaluating their health-related quality of life(HRQoL).We explored the direct and indirect effects of personal psychological resources (self-efficacy) and coping behaviors (dyadic coping) on HRQoL. An analysis method suitable for paired data was used to validate the dyadic associations. We found that increasing self-efficacy and dyadic coping is crucial for improving HRQoL, whether for high-risk pregnant women, spouses, or both. Dyadic coping functions as an essential mediator that can provide new targets for interventions. Our findings confirmed the close correlation between high-risk pregnant women and their spouses, indicating that these couples should be intervened in perinatal care as a whole. The conclusions of this study also provide an important reference for the development of more comprehensive binary intervention programs.