Relationships between dyadic coping, intimate relationship and post‐traumatic growth in patients with breast cancer: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Aim To investigate the relationships and pathways between dyadic coping, intimate relationship and post‐traumatic growth (PTG) in Chinese patients with breast cancer. Design A cross‐sectional study. Methods Between November 2019 and November 2020, 133 patients with breast cancer who received therapy in tertiary grade‐A hospitals at Dalian, China completed questionnaires including demographic and clinical questionnaires, Locke–Wallace Marriage Adjustment Test, Chinese version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory and Chinese version of the Post‐traumatic Growth Inventory. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the pathways. Results Dyadic coping was positively interrelated with PTG and intimate relationship ( r = .355, p < .01; r = .213, p < .05); intimate relationship was negatively interrelated with PTG ( r = −.207, p < .05). The structural equation model demonstrated adequate fit. Dyadic coping and intimate relationship directly affected PTG ( β = .469, p < .05; β = −.309, p < .05). Dyadic coping indirectly affected PTG through intimate relationship ( β = −.066, p < .05). Conclusions Dyadic coping was a stimulus factor, but intimate relationship was an obstructive factor in enhancing PTG for the Chinese patients with breast cancer. Furthermore, intimate relationship may have significant mediating effects in the link between dyadic coping and PTG. Strategies that improve dyadic coping level and avoid excessive intimacy relationships between couples contribute to the development of PTG among patients with breast cancer. Impact The research provides new ideas and intervention entry points for global nurses and psychotherapists so that they can enact and implement targeted PTG intervention plans for patients with breast cancer worldwide.