Perceived Social Support and Life Satisfaction in Couples either with or without Wild-Type Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis: A Pilot Study

The aim of the study was to examine the relations between perceived social support and life satisfaction in couples in which the male partner was either affected or unaffected by cardiac amyloidosis. A total of 66 couple (34 in clinical group and 32 in control group) were recruited. A self-reported questionnaire consisting of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Satisfaction with Life Scale was used. To explore the relationships between perceived social support and life satisfaction while controlling for the males’ clinical condition, the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was applied. The results revealed that clinical group reported lower life satisfaction than control group. Male partners reported higher levels of perceived support than their female partners. Moreover, results showed significant and distinct actor and partner effects for perceived social support and life satisfaction, controlling for clinical conditions, highlighting gender differences. Finally, when examining the moderating role of clinical condition, results indicated that males’ clinical condition did not moderate the relationship between perceived social support and life satisfaction.