Actor and partner effects of coping on adjustment in couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment

Abstract

health psychology report • volume 5(4), 7 original article background Infertility is a shared experience as it affects both partners. However, mutual dependencies between coping and adjustment at the couple level remain to be fully elucidated. The study attempted to address this issue using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to examine the actor effect (the extent to which an individual's score on coping predicted their own level of depressive symptoms and life purpose) and the partner effect (the extent to which an individual's score on coping predicted the level of adjustment in the partner) in couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment (ART). participants and procedure Coping strategies, depressive symptoms, and life purpose were assessed among 31 married couples (aged 27-38 years) undergoing ART. The Brief COPE, CES-D, and PIL questionnaires were used. Data were analyzed by multilevel modeling (MLM). results The results of MLM indicated that focus on positive and active coping had an actor effect with depressive symptoms and life purpose, respectively. The actor effect of evasive coping on depression was moderated by gender and significant only in women. The partner effect was demonstrated for evasive coping, social support seeking, and substance use-the first two were gender moderated and significant in men. conclusions Coping efforts in the couple during infertility treatment are not only associated with the individual but also the partner's adjustment to that situation. Although the focus on positive and active coping was associated with individual benefits, other coping strategies which have the function of a protective buffer may also result in the occurrence of side effects, especially in females.

Salutary effect of daily coping self-efficacy: impact on day-by-day coping to mood effects within dyads following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

“…In particular, daily instrumental and positive emotion-focused coping with patient's health condition predicted only an increase in daily positive affect, while daily CSE and negative emotionfocused coping predicted changes in both affect valences. The direction of these findings is consistent with our expectations and the current studies (Boyer et al, 2017;Fagundes et al, 2012;Kraemer et al, 2011;Kroemeke & Kubicka, 2017;Lafaye et al, 2014;Schokker et al, 2011).…”

“…Studies have used APIM more often to examine the relationship between coping and its outcomes within dyads. Some cross-sectional (Gilbar, Weinberg, & Gil, 2012;Kroemeke & Kubicka, 2017;Meuwly, Bodenmann, & Coyne, 2012), longitudinal (Kraemer, Stanton, Meyerowitz, Rowland, & Ganz, 2011;Lafaye et al, 2014), and daily diary studies (Fagundes, Berg, & Wiebe, 2012) have shown significant actor and partner coping effects on wellbeing (e.g., anxiety, depressive symptoms, negative affect, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and life purpose). These results suggest that the beneficial effect produced by the so-called adaptive coping strategies (instrumental strategies) and the detrimental effect associated with maladaptive strategies (avoidance-or emotion-focused strategies) may crossover between dyad members, however, with some exceptions.…”

“…These results suggest that the beneficial effect produced by the so-called adaptive coping strategies (instrumental strategies) and the detrimental effect associated with maladaptive strategies (avoidance-or emotion-focused strategies) may crossover between dyad members, however, with some exceptions. In some cases, male partners have more trouble adjusting when women seek social support (Kroemeke & Kubicka, 2017;Lafaye et al, 2014). Thus, one partner's attempts to cope may reduce their or the partner's wellbeing, illustrating the ambiguity and complexity of coping with stress in community-nested real life.…”

Editorial: Reproductive health and well-being from a life span perspective

“…Some people treated for infertility also undergo assisted reproduction procedures, e.g., in vitro , which is a source of stress and elevated anxiety or even depression (Olivius et al, 2004 ). It is an experience, which requires additional coping efforts from the individual experiencing the treatment (Kroemeke and Kubicka, 2017 ).…”