The effect of illness perception on psychosocial adjustment of patients with breast cancer and their spouses: actor-partner independence model.

Objective: With the increase in the prevalence rate and improvements in the survival of breast cancer patients, there is a growing interest in understanding the level of psychosocial adjustment in these patients. The study aimed to describe the illness perception and psychosocial adjustment levels of both breast cancer patients and their spouses, to use the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) to clarify the actor-partner relationships between spouses, and to explore the impact of illness perception on psychosocial adjustment to the disease within the joint actions of both spouses.

Methods: A total of 216 female patients with breast cancer and their spouses participated in the study.