(SSCP1-4) SSCP Submission: Association Between Dyadic Coping, Relationship Satisfaction, Life Satisfaction and Depression Among Asian-american Adults

Background

Dyadic coping (DC) reflects how couples manage stress together. While DC has been studied as a predictor of relationship satisfaction, its impact on life satisfaction needs to be further explored. The effects of specific forms of DC—supportive (emotional or problem-focused support), delegated (taking over responsibilities), negative (minimizing partner’s stress), and joint (managing stress together)—and whether they are provided by partner, by self, or together (joint DC) are also less understood. Since depression is associated with decreased relationship quality, understanding DC in the context of depression is crucial to better inform treatment for depressed individuals. Further, most research in the field has focused on White samples, leaving unclear generalizability to underrepresented minorities. 

The current study aims to address these gaps with two aims: 1) to evaluate whether specific forms of DC are associated with relationship and life satisfaction among Asian-Americans, and 2) to examine these associations specifically among Asian-Americans with elevated depressive symptoms.

Methods

201 Asian-American adults in romantic relationships (M_age = 28.5; SD = 8.0; 73.1% female; 68.7% heterosexual) were recruited from the local community and completed an online survey. Measures were: 1) Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI), 2) Satisfaction with Life Scale, 3) Relationship Assessment Scale, and 4) Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), a measure of depressive symptoms. The DCI subscales measure specific forms of DC and whether they are provided by partner or self.

Results

In the full sample, after age, gender, and relationship length were covaried, overall DC was positively associated with relationship satisfaction (β=.65, p< .001) and life satisfaction (β=.31, p< .001), respectively. All forms of DC by partner and self were significantly correlated with relationship satisfaction at p< .01 (for supportive, delegated, and joint DC, rs=.24 to .57; for negative DC: rs=-.50 to -.42), and life satisfaction at p< .01 (for supportive, delegated, and joint DC, rs=.17 to .26; for negative DC rs=-.13).

Among adults with elevated depression (PHQ-2 ≥ 3; n =48), all forms of DC by partner and self were correlated with relationship satisfaction (for supportive, delegated, and joint DC, rs=.23 to .65; for negative DC, rs=-.37 to -.36). However, life satisfaction was only correlated with joint DC (r=.30, p< .01), supportive DC by partner (r=.34, p< .01), and delegated DC by partner (r=.23, p< .01).

Conclusion

We found that overall DC and all specific forms of DC, by partner, self, and joint, were correlated with relationship and life satisfaction in Asian-Americans. For adults with elevated depressive symptoms, these findings largely held for relationship satisfaction, but only joint DC and supportive and delegated DC by partner were correlated with life satisfaction. These results suggest that DC, especially joint DC and DC provided by partner, may be a protective factor against relationship and life dissatisfaction, and they collectively point to the need to better understand interpersonal support and coping within romantic relationships as potential targets for treatment in Asian-American populations with depression.