Acquiring dyadic coping: Partners and parents as models

Using self-reported data on dyadic coping from 153 premarital couples and their parents, this study investigates\r\n(a) how similar individuals are to their parents and partner and (b) whether parent–child similarities in dyadic\r\ncoping vary as a function of child’s gender and the type of dyadic coping model parents represent. Similarities were\r\ncomputed using an idiographic approach, and 2 components of dyadic similarity—unique and stereotypical—were\r\ndistinguished. Results indicate that internalization of parental models and partner’s reciprocation are relevant sources\r\nof dyadic coping acquisition, that different processes are implicated in the acquisition of positive versus negative\r\ndyadic coping, and that children’s gender and their ability to discriminate between parental models influence such an\r\nacquisition.