Assessing Responses to Recurring Problems in Marriage: Evaluation of the Marital Coping Inventory

The authors evaluated the psychometric properties of the Marital Coping Inventory (MCI; M. L. Bowman, 1990) by administering the MCI and measures of marital satisfaction and negative affectivity to 120 newlywed spouses, by observing spouses discussing a marital problem, and by administering the MCI again to 104 spouses 6 months later. Results extend prior analyses of the MCI: The Avoidance subscale had low internal consistency, wives scored higher than husbands on the Conflict and Self-Blame subscales, coping scores correlated with specific affects expressed in the discussions, and the Conflict and Self-Interest subscales predicted change in marital satisfaction. These findings aid in evaluating the psychometric status of the MCI and the conceptual status of coping as assessed by the MCI.