Relational resilience as a protective factor in marital adjustment of couples with cancer: A dyadic model

Abstract

Objective: Understanding how the relational process progress in the face of chronic risk situation in a marriage is important for the quality of the marriage.The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between relational resilience as a protective factor and marital adjustment for couples with one spouse being a cancer, by employing a dyadic approach. In this study, relational resilience is thought to be a supportive structure in ensuring marital adjustment. Method: 152 couples (n=304) with one of the spouses being a cancer patient participated in the study. All participants completed demographic form, relational resilience and marital adjustment measures. This study included the patients who had cancer disease and received outpatient treatment in Ankara Numune Education and Research Hospital, Dr. Ahmet Andiçen Oncology Hospital and Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtarslan Oncology Education and Research Hospital. The other inclusion criteria was that the patients were married and the spouses of patients accepted to take survey as well. The study was designed according to the relational screening model. In this way, the effects of resilience of married couples on marital adjustment against cancer disease were investigated by using the Actor-Partner Interdepence Model (APIM). Results: APIM results reveale significant actor and partner effects of cancer patients on marital relations. Results indicated that relational resilience of husband and wife in the face of cancer had positive and significant effects on marital adjustment. The research found that the partner effects on marital adjustment was higher for wives compared to husband. The results demonstrated that each person's relational resilience is the strongest predictor of their own marital adjustment and the partner's relational resilience also plays significant role in one's marital adjustment. Conclusion: The results of the study showed the importance of the actor and partner effects of relational resilience for increasing the marital adjustment and strengthening the relationships. These results were discussed within the context of marriage counseling by taking the cultural structure into consideration.