| Summary: | Previous research suggests that spouse factors contribute to the course and outcomes of cardiac illness. The present study examined spouse confidence in patient efficacy, spouse psychological distress, and spouse involvement in the research project as predictors of patient participation in Phase-II cardiac rehabilitation (CR) and subsequent changes in patient health and weekly exercise in a sample of 128 cardiac patients. Spouse confidence in patient efficacy predicted the number of CR sessions attended by male patients, independent of patients' own self-efficacy ratings, and spouse psychological distress predicted CR program completion among female patients, independent of patients' own distress. Spouse confidence also independently predicted increases in male and female patients' weekly exercise at six-month follow-up. Patients whose spouses participated in the study attended more CR exercise sessions and were more likely to complete the CR program than patients whose spouses did not take part in the study. Spouse involvement in the study also predicted positive health change at six-month follow-up among female patients. Results provide preliminary evidence that spouse factors can have predictive utility in the context of Phase-II CR, and contribute to research on the behavioral pathways via which psychosocial factors are linked to cardiac health outcomes.
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