A blessing in disguise : transforming misfortunes into blessings during the post-stroke recovery through dyadic coping among Chinese stroke survivors and their caregivers

• Main Author: Liaw, Jie Qi
• Other Authors: Ho Hau Yan Andy
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/150914
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The growing community of Chinese stroke survivors and caregivers in Singapore highlight the imminent need to address the psychological impact of stroke. The post-stroke recovery journey is often plagued with psychological distress for both parties in the patient-caregiver dyad due to the sudden nature and drastic consequences of stroke. This qualitative study explores the relationship between the dyadic coping process and the ability to elicit positive accounts of the post-stroke recovery journey from both parties in the dyad. This relationship could potentially promote psychological benefits for stroke survivors and their caregivers. Four pairs of stroke survivors and their caregivers were recruited and meaning-oriented interviews were conducted with them. An interpretative phenomenological analysis allowed us to formulate a culturally specific model, The Blessing in Disguise Dyadic Coping Model for our Chinese community of stroke survivors and their caregivers. The model consisted of three main themes and nine subthemes. The main theme of The Misfortunes had three subthemes under it, mainly Loss of Autonomy, Myriad of Uncertainties and Financial Constraints. The Dyadic Coping Inventory included 4 subthemes: Supportive Relationship, Open Communication, Common Goal and Adjusting to Evolving Roles. Lastly, The Blessings had two subthemes, namely Adopting Healthier Lifestyles and Improved Relationship. These findings examined the factors of effective dyadic coping processes that help dyads to transform negative aspects of the post-stroke recovery journey into positive ones. Clinical implications are discussed.