ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the most important aspects with respect to the translation and validation of the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI) and other such measures. Congruent with the systemic notion that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, dyadic coping (DC) within couples is more than just the sum of two individual coping processes. According to the Systemic Transactional Model (STM), DC is typically initiated through stress communication. Different inventories have been developed to measure the DC process based on several existing theoretical conceptualizations of DC. These DC instruments include the Collaborative Coping Questionnaire (CCQ), the Relationship Focused Coping Scale (RFCS), the Empathic Responding Scale (ERS), a protective buffering observational coding system (PBOCS), and the DCI. Several different theoretical models have been developed for conceptualizing DC: the Congruence Model of DC, the Developmental Contextual Coping Model, the Relationship Focused Coping Model, and the STM.
