Rehabilitation Psychology, Vol 71(2), May 2026, 161-172; doi:10.1037/rep0000635
Background: Despite daily challenges, persons with spinal cord injury (PwSCI) successfully mobilize individual and relational resources and attain good mental health. Psychosocial resources were investigated as components of resilience, defined as satisfactory adaptation to adversity. While the association between resilience and positive mental health, conceptualized as psychological, emotional, and social well-being, was widely observed in individuals, it remains unexplored within dyads. This study was thus aimed to investigate this association at both individual and relational levels among PwSCI and their informal caregivers, defined as family members providing regular and unpaid assistance. Method: Through a cross-sectional dyadic design, 162 PwSCI and their 162 caregivers completed the Resilience Scale for Adults and the Mental Health Continuum–Short Form. Actor and partner effects were analyzed using the actor–partner interdependence model. Results: Significant actor effects emerged for self-perception (b = .60, p b = .62, p b = .26, p b = .28, p b = .33, p