Predictive Validity of Coping Strategies on Marital Satisfaction: Cross-Sectional
and Longitudinal Evidence
Journal of Family Psychology, 1998, Vol. 12, No. 1, 112-131,
©1998 American Psychological Association
Geneviève Bouchard and Stéphane Sabourin, Université
Laval,Yvan Lussier,Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières,John
Wright, Université de Montréal, Chantal Richer, Université
Laval
The present study investigated the contribution
of coping strategies, when facing marital difficulties, to marital satisfaction,
using both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. For the cross-sectional
design, both members of 506 couples individually completed the Ways of
Coping Questionnaire and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results revealed
that self-reported coping strategies were significant—linear and curvilinear—predictors
of both self- and partner-reported marital satisfaction. Results of the
longitudinal analyses were based on 2 distinct samples: 95 couples who
completed the same questionnaires 4 months later (short-term cohort) and
108 couples who again completed the same questionnaires 1.5 years later
(long-term cohort). Significant, but weak, curvilinear relations between
coping strategies and subsequent marital satisfaction were observed for
women.