Psychometric properties of the Dyadic Coping Inventory

Abstract

A survey conducted by The Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS Indonesia) last year has found that the divorce rate in Indonesia had increased up to 53,50% compared to the data in 2020, and more than half of the divorce cases happened because of “unsolved conflicts between couples”. Out of various studies on marital or romantic relationships done internationally, it suggests that dyadic coping could be the protective factor in the relationship between stress and the couples’ well-being. According to a meta-analysis study held in 2015 along with systematic literature reviews published in 2019 and 2022 regarding the construct, the Systemic Transactional Model (STM) of dyadic coping proposed by Guy Bodenmann, as well as the instrument used to measure it, the Dyadic Coping Inventory/DCI (also developed from the same model), are considered the most frequently used model and instrument in assessing dyadic coping together with other related construct (e.g., relationship satisfaction). The Dyadic Coping Inventory has been translated into 25 languages and has been adapted in 14 countries. Unfortunately, this instrument had only been translated from English to Indonesian and had not been tested, specifically for its validity and reliability on the Indonesian population. The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric property of the Indonesian version of Dyadic Coping Inventory. The study is conducted by following the International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines for translating and adapting tests (2017). A total of 104 participants were involved in this research (during pilot study). Results showed that the instrument has an overall high internal consistency (α = .93). Evidence for validity based on content and response processes were also acquired through experts’ judgement and cognitive interviews. Further studies should include a larger sample size to test the Indonesian version of DCI and perform a factorial analysis (validity based on internal structure).