Scale Analysis and Purpose

The Marital Coping Inventory (MCI-64) was developed in 1990 by Bowman to measure the strategies individuals use to cope with difficult and stressful situations within the context of relationships and marriage.

Scoring of Items

The MCI-64 consists of 64 items divided into 5 subscales:
Conflict
Self-Blame
Positive Approach
Individual Interests
Avoidance
Each subscale focuses on a different aspect of coping. Participants are asked to think of a significant issue in their relationship related to their partner’s behavior, and then respond to the items based on that problem using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (almost always).

Statistical Analysis

The scale produces an overall score, derived from the items within each subscale by calculating the mean score that reflects the extent to which each coping strategy is used. Each item is scored from 1 to 5.

Validity and Reliability

The Marital Coping Inventory has been translated and adapted into Greek using the back-translation method. In the validation sample, the five subscales showed satisfactory internal consistency:
Avoidance: α = .75
Conflict: α = .88
Self-Blame: α = .90
Individual Interests: α = .86
Positive Approach: α = .86

References

Author: Bowman M. L.
Greek Adaptation: Tsangarakis M., Piperakis S., & Stalikas A.
Tsangarakis, M., Piperaki, A., & Stalikas, A. (2005). Factor structure, validity, and reliability of the Greek version of the Marital Coping Inventory. Unpublished manuscript.