(PS4-D96) Examining Convergence of an Extradyadic Involvement Coping Measure to the Marital Coping Inventory

Individuals respond to relationship problems in a wide variety of ways. The Marital Coping Inventory (MCI, Bowen, 1990) is a self-report measure regarding how often respondents engage in various thoughts and actions in response to their most serious recurring relationship problem. These various types of responses, considered ways of “coping” with relationship problems, are divided into five subscales: conflict, introspective self-blame, positive approach, self-interest, and avoidance. The MCI does not include any items focused explicitly on imagining or engaging in extradyadic involvement (EDI; i.e., sexual involvement with someone outside a primary relationship). Yet, we know that relationship distress or problems are an oft cited reason for engaging in EDI (Allen et al., 2005). 

For the current study, we provide data on within-couple gender differences and correlations with existing MCI subscales for a novel set of items added to an administration of the MCI. We called this novel set of 8 items the EDI Coping scale. These items ask how frequently an individual may engage in EDI related thoughts (e.g., “I wish I was with someone else”) or behaviors (e.g., “I get my sexual needs met by someone else”), answered from 1 = never and 5 = usually, in response to their most serious recurring relationship problem. We administered this expanded measure (as part of a larger survey) to 204 opposite sex community couples. Partners were given the survey in private, individually separated rooms, and submitted their completed surveys into locked boxes to protect privacy, and to increase their willingness to report on EDI thoughts and behaviors. The 8 items had high loadings on a single factor and high internal consistency (α =.86).

We found that partners did not differ from each other on their average EDI coping score. On the item level, males endorsed higher levels of flirting with another person (t(207) = 2.33, p = .01) than their female partners. Partners’ self-report of EDI coping was significantly correlated (r = .26, p < .001), such that there appeared to be some convergence within couples on these thoughts and behaviors. Males’ and females’ EDI coping was also significantly related to higher levels of many of their own other MCI scores (all ps < .001, * indicates an association that remained when entering all own MCI scales predicting own EDI coping in a simultaneous regression): conflict (male r = .57*, female  r = .46*), introspective self-blame (male r =.34, female  r = .29), avoidance (male r = .38, female  r = .37), and self-interest (male r = .56*, female  r = .46*). On the dyadic level, female EDI coping was also related to higher levels of some male partner MCI scores; specifically, conflict (r = .21, p = .002), avoidance (r = .18, p = .01), and surprisingly, positive approach (r = .16, p = .02). However, male EDI coping was unrelated to their female partner reports of their own MCI behaviors.

Overall, results suggest that self-reported EDI coping converges with other relationally maladaptive coping strategies that individuals engage in, with some additional potential cross-partner influences that would need to be replicated in more controlled longitudinal analyses to improve inferences.