In our studies, we focus on the contribution of dyadic support transactions among cardiac patients and their partners to patients' psychological, behavioral and physiological outcomes, in longitudinal and prospective studies. Few examples: We showed that support provided by the partners bore a positive effect on cardiac patients’ psychological (depression), behavioral (smoking cessation) and physiological (LDL blood levels) outcomes only as a function of the patients’ own perceptions of the support provided to them (Vilchinsky et al., 2011).

Applying the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) of dyadic analysis we found that six months after the cardiac event, partners’ marital satisfaction was associated with their own and the patients’ decreased depression symptoms, whereas, among patients, higher levels of marital satisfaction were associated with elevated levels of depression both for themselves and for their partners (Dekel, Vilchinsky et al., 2013).

Thus, we were able to establish the necessity and importance of applying a dyadic perspective to the investigation of cardiac patients' psychological consequences.

Focusing on attachment, we have demonstrated the moderating effect of attachment orientations on the associations among patients' illness perceptions and distress; and on the associations among caregivers' burden and distress.

 

PUBLICATIONS:

 

Vilchinsky, N., Haze-Filderman, L., Leibowitz, M., Reges, O., Khaskia, A., & Mosseri, M. (2010). Spousal support and cardiac patients’ Distress: The moderating role of attachment

orientation. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 508-512.

 

Vilchinsky, N., Dekel, R., Leibowitz, M., Reges, O., Levit, O., Khaskia, A., & Mosseri, M. (2011). Dynamics of support perceptions among couples coping with cardiac illness: The effect on recovery outcomes. Health Psychology, 30, 411–419. DOI: 10.1037/a0023453

 

Dekel, R., Vilchinsky, N., Leibowitz, M., Reges, O., Khaskia, A., & Mosseri, M. (2013). Marital satisfaction and depression among couples following men’s acute coronary syndrome: Testing dyadic dynamics in a longitudinal design. British Journal of Health Psychology. DOI:10.1111/bjhp.12042

 

Vilchinsky, N., Dekel, R., Asher, Z., Leibowitz, M. & Mosseri, M. (2013). The role of illness perceptions in the attachment-related process of affect regulation. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 26, 314-329. DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2012.682649.

 

Vilchinsky, N., Dekel, R., Revenson, T.A., Liberman, G. & Mosseri, M. (2014). Cardiac caregivers' burden and depressive symptoms: The moderational role of attachment orientations. Health Psychology. 

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Liat Haze-Filderman

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