Abstract

ALVES, Stephanie et al. O papel do ajustamento diádico na sintomatologia psicopatológica e qualidade de vida de doentes com perturbação psiquiátrica e dos parceiros saudáveis. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2014, vol.32, n.3, pp.323-339. ISSN 0870-8231.  https://doi.org/10.14417/ap.830.

The purpose of this study was to assess the individual and marital adjustment of couples in the context of a psychiatric disorder of one of the spouses, exploring the role of dyadic adjustment on psychopathological symptoms and quality of life of the patient and his/her healthy partner. The total sample consisted of 108 couples: 54 couples in which one member was diagnosed with a mental disorder (27 where the identified patient was the woman and 27 where the man was the patient) and 54 couples of the general population. The assessment protocol included the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the quality of life index EUROHIS-QOL-8 and the scale of Dyadic Adjustment Scale - Revised (DAS-R). The results showed that couples of the clinical groups presented lower levels of quality of life and higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms compared to couples of the general population. The women whose partner was ill showed a similar individual adjustment to that presented by women with a psychiatric disorder. The dyadic adjustment of couples of the clinical groups was lower than that of their healthy counterparts. Dyadic adjustment was only significantly associated with a higher individual adjustment of the patient or the healthy partner in couples in which the man was the patient. The adaptation patterns seem to relate to the specificities of the clinical population, the sex of the ill partner and the duration of the clinical condition. The observed findings emphasize the importance to assume a dyadic perspective in this context, and the subsequent clinical implications will be discussed.

Keywords : Couple; Dyadic adjustment; Psychopathological symptoms; Psychopathology; Quality of life.

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