INTERNAL-EXTERNAL STRESS, DYADIC COPING BASED GRATITUDE, AND EMOTIONAL REGULATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND THEIR PARTNERS: A DYADIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The chronic coronary heart disease (CHD) imposes significant psychological and relationship burdens on couples, which highlights the significance of learning to manage stress, coping based gratitude, and emotional control as mutually supporting dyadic mechanisms. This paper analyzed the relationships between individual and dyadic stresses in CHD patients and their partners in terms of predicting emotional regulation outcomes and the effect of dyadic coping-based gratitude on these relationships. Standardized measures of stress, gratitude and emotion regulation were used to collect data on patient-partner dyads recruited in cardiac hospitals. The results of correlation showed a significant negative correlation between internal and external stress and emotional regulation as well as a positive correlation between gratitude and the emotional regulation. Direct and indirect effects were studied by using Amos. Structural equation models were used to examine mediation effects. The results of mediation indicated that stress compromises emotional regulation by means of decreased gratitude. The results demonstrate the systemic approach to emotional adjustment in CHD and underscore the importance of dyadic coping-based gratitude as sources of relationship resources that encourage resiliency among patient-partner dyads.