The Dyadic Relationship of Illness Uncertainty, Social Support, and Coping Styles in Patients with OSA and Their Co-Residents: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model Analysis.

Background: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) patients experience significant illness uncertainty, impacting coping. Social support mitigates uncertainty, while coping styles influence management. Research predominantly examines individual patients, neglecting dyadic interactions between patients and co-residents. Objective: To examine the dyadic interrelationships of illness uncertainty, social support, and coping styles in OSA patient-co-resident pairs using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Methods: A cross‑sectional study of 242 patient-co‑resident dyads from a tertiary hospital examined self‑reported illness uncertainty, social support, and coping styles. APIM analyzed actor and partner effects. Results: Patients reported higher illness uncertainty (P<0.001), whereas co‑residents reported greater social support (P<0.001). Social support was positively associated with active coping and negatively associated with passive coping within dyads. Actor effects indicated that illness uncertainty in both patients and co-residents was associated with lower levels of their own social support, which in turn correlated with decreased active coping and increased passive coping (β=0.203 and 0.038, P<0.05). Partner effects analyses indicated that one member's uncertainty or social support was associated with the other member's coping via specific indirect paths. Conclusion: The findings reveal bidirectional, dyadic interdependence among illness uncertainty, social support, and coping styles in OSA patient-co-resident pairs, with social support appearing as a prominent within‑individual associative pathway. These results support considering family‑oriented strategies that aim to strengthen mutual social support to be explored further as a means to promote adaptive coping in this population.