Common Dyadic Coping Mediates the Associations Between We-Disease Appraisal and Relationship Satisfaction and Quality of Life in HIV Serodiscordant Couples: The Common Fate Mediation Model.

Numerous studies have shown that HIV serodiscordant couples may face HIV-related stress as a unit. Yet, it is not clear how the appraisal of HIV as a shared illness (i.e., we-disease appraisal) may influence relationship satisfaction and both partners' quality of life (QoL) via common dyadic coping (CDC) behaviors (e.g., collaboration). In this study, we collected data from 231 HIV serodiscordant couples. Participants completed reports of how they appraise HIV as a we-disease, their CDC behaviors, and their relationship satisfaction and QoL. We found that we-disease appraisal was positively associated with CDC, which in turn was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and both partners' QoL. Future couple-based interventions should incorporate psycho-educational components to raise awareness about we-disease appraisal, as well as skill-building components to encourage the use of CDC in clinical settings.