ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Aging Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1613215
DYADIC COPING AND WELL-BEING IN EARLY-STAGE DEMENTIA COUPLES
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 2University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
- 3Privatklinik Hohenegg AG, miles, Zürich, Switzerland
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study examined the relationship between dyadic coping (DC) and anxiety, depression, and quality of life in 37 couples facing early-stage dementia (ESD). Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the study revealed significant actor effects of DC on these outcomes, particularly for quality of life domains. Subjects with ESD providing more delegated DC and engaging more in common DC showed less anxiety. Caregiving partners experienced lower distress when engaging in emotion-focused common DC. Interestingly, positive DC from caregiving partners was associated with lower quality of life in patients.We found more actor effects than partner effects, suggesting that DC behaviors primarily impact one's own well-being, rather than the partner's well-being. The different patterns of DC effects on subjects with ESD and their partners reflect a need for tailored interventions that consider the unique needs of each partner in couples facing ESD.
Keywords: Dyadic coping, Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life, Dementia, couples
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 22 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Muijres, Bodenmann, Nussbeck and Jenewein. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peter Muijres, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.