Coping in Intimate Relationships: Development of the Multidimensional Intimate Coping Questionnaire

Abstract

Psychological correlates of the use of coping strategies in intimate relationships were investigated through the development of an objective self-report instrument, the Multidimensional Intimate Coping Questionnaire (MICQ). Preliminary results indicated that the 25 MICQ subscales had high internal consistency, that the subscales were uncontaminated by social desirability tendencies, that several demographic variables predicted the use of MICQ intimate coping strategies, and that the MICQ subscales were associated in predictable ways with other general measures of coping. Other findings revealed that several personality tendencies were related to specific coping tendencies: relational esteem was associated with positive, active coping strategies; relational depression was associated with avoidant strategies and self-criticism; relational obsession was associated with emotion-focused strategies and suppression of competing activities in order to focus on the relationship issue; relational consciousness was associated with problem-focused strategies and emotional expression; relational monitoring was associated with denial, wishful thinking and mental disengagement from the relation-ship issue; and relational anxiety was correlated with emotional expression coupled with self-criticism and attempts to disengage from the problem. Adult attachment style and gender also influenced coping tendencies. The MICQ represents a comprehensive approach to the study of coping in intimate relationships.

Keywords

coping strategies intimate relationships

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aldwin, C. M. , & Revenson, T. A. (1987). Does coping help? A reexamination of the relation between coping and mental health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 337-348.

Bartholomew, K. (1990). Avoidance of intimacy: An attachment perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 7, 147-178.

Bowman, M. L. (1990). Coping efforts and marital satisfaction: Measuring marital coping and its correlates'. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 463-474.

Carver, C. S. , Scheier, M. F. , & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.

Coyne, J. C. , Aldwin, C. , & Lazarus, R. S. (1981). Depression and coping in stressful episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90, 439-447.

Crowne, D. P. , & Marlowe, D. (1961). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354.

Endler, N. S. , & Parker, J. D. A. (1990). Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations. Toronto, Multi-Health Systems, Inc.

Folkman, S. , & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). Manual for the ways of coping questionnaire. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Griffin, D. , & Bartholomew, K. (1994). Adult attachment profiles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 430-445.

10.

Hansson, R. O. , Jones, W. H. , Carpenter, B. N. , & Remondat, J. H. (1986-87). Loneliness and adjustment in old age. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 24, 41-53.

11.

Mikulincer, M. , Florian, V. , & Weller, H. (1993). Attachment styles, coping strategies, and posttraumatic psychological distress: The impact of the Gulf War in Israel. Journal of Social and Personality Psychology, 64, 817-826.

12.

Noller, P. , Feeney, J. A. , Bonnell, D. , & Callan, V. J. (1994). A longitudinal study of conflict in early marriage. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 233-252.

13.

Pearlin, L. I. , & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2-21.

14.

Pollina, L. K. , & Koontz, L. (1996). Relation of attachment style to locus of control and to coping in intimate relationships, submitted.

15.

Snell, W. E., Jr (1990). Development and validation of the relationship awareness scale. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, IL.

16.

Snell, W. E., Jr (in press). The relationship awareness scale: Measuring relational conscious-ness, relational monitoring, and relational anxiety. Contemporary Social Psychology, in press.

17.

Snell, W. E., Jr , & Finney, P. D. (1993). Measuring relational aspects of the self: Relational-esteem, relational-depression, and relational-perception. Contemporary Social Psychology, 17, 44-55.

18.

Snell, W. E., Jr , Hampton, B. R. , & McManus, P. (1992). The impact of counselor and participant gender on willingness to discuss relational topics: Development of the Relational Disclosure Scale. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 409-416.

19.

Winemiller, D. R. , & Mitchell, M. E. (1994). Development of a coding system for marital problem solving efficacy. Behavior Research and Therapy, 32, 159-164.