The primary objective of the study was to increase understanding of interpersonal
dimensions of stress and coping within married couples. Using a diary methodology and
a matched-pair hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis strategy, the study examined
how stress and coping processes unfold over the course of a given day and across days
within couples. The study investigated within-couple variation in daily stress, coping,
coping efficacy, mood, and marital tension. Special emphasis was given to the
examination of the correlates and consequences of empathic responding, a form of
relationship focused coping. The results suggest that when relational outcomes are
considered, empathic responding may represent an adaptive way of coping with everyday
stress occurring within intimate contexts. Moreover, the study indicates that when greater
personal significance is attached to a family stressor, husbands and wives tend to increase
their use of empathic responding. The findings suggest that the examination of
relationship-focused coping may add to the theoretical and explanatory power of current
models of stress and coping.
Also considered were the contextual effects of marital adjustment on how family
stressors are experienced and managed by couples. The results document a link between
marital adjustment and the use of empathic responding for both husbands and wives
within couples. Further, the study suggests that marital adjustment plays an important
role in determining whether the negative effects of stress will persist across days.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/11270 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | O'Brien, Teresa Bird |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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