One Meaning for Two Persons: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Analysis of Meaning in Life, Anxiety, and Depression Among Rehabilitation Patients and Caregivers

Wei Gabriel Qi; Yunhua Xia; Miao Miao; Yiqun Gan

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2023.01.022

One Meaning for Two Persons: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Analysis of Meaning in Life, Anxiety, and Depression Among Rehabilitation Patients and Caregivers

J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2023 Jul;24(7):1054-1060. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2023.01.022. Epub 2023 Mar 1.

Authors

Wei Gabriel Qi¹, Yunhua Xia², Miao Miao³, Yiqun Gan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Psychology, School of Health Humanities, Peking University, Beijing, China.
² Beijing Huasheng Rehabilitation Hospital, Beijing, China.
³ Department of Medical Psychology, School of Health Humanities, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: miaomiao@bjmu.edu.cn.
⁴ School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ygan@pku.edu.cn.

PMID: 36870365
DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2023.01.022

Abstract

Objective: Patients and caregivers in the inpatient physical rehabilitation setting are presented with life-changing medical conditions, and their meaning in life can change dramatically. Meaning in life is associated with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms, but little is known about how they are related interdependently among patients and caregivers. In the current study, we aim to explore their dyadic relationships.

Design: Actor-partner interdependence model through structural equation modeling for dyadic analyses.

Setting and participants: A total of 160 pairs of patients and caregivers recruited from 6 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in China.

Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among pairs of rehabilitation patients and caregivers. The presence of and search for meaning were measured with the Meaning in Life Questionnaire.

Results: In 2 separate models, we found that patients' presence of meaning was negatively associated with their own depression (β = -0.61, P < .001) and anxiety (β = -0.55, P < .001), as well as their caregivers' depression (β = -0.32, P < .001) and anxiety (β = -0.31, P < .001). However, the caregivers' presence of meaning was only negatively associated with their own depression (β = -0.25, P < .05) and anxiety (β = -0.21, P < .05). A search for meaning was not significantly associated with depression or anxiety.

Conclusions and implications: The results indicate that the anxiety and depressive symptoms of rehabilitation inpatients and caregivers are associated with their own level of presence of meaning. Caregivers' depression and anxiety are interdependently associated with patients' presence of meaning. Clinicians should take dyadic interdependence into consideration when providing psychological services to rehabilitate patients and their caregivers. Meaning-centered interventions can be helpful for the dyads' meaning-making and mental health.

Keywords: actor–partner interdependence model; anxiety; depression; meaning in life; physical rehabilitation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anxiety / psychology
Caregivers* / psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression* / psychology
Humans
Quality of Life / psychology