Dyadic coping in Italian couples

Forming and maintaining a satisfying romantic relationship are important life goals for Italians (Monzani, Greco, & Steca, 2011). Accomplishing such goals, however, is subject to specific challenges in the Italian context. While the number of marriages in Italy showed a significant decrease over the past years, divorce rates have been gradually increasing (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, 2014). Indeed, these signs of a general weakening of the marital bond in Italy reflect a cultural shift in values as well as the many stressful circumstances that partners have to face in their everyday life. Partners’ ability to manage stressful circumstances together has proved to have relevant repercussions on partners’ well-being (e.g., Bertoni et al., 2007; Donato & Parise, 2012). Nonetheless, studies on stressors, and how couples cope, are scarce in Italy and have only recently received attention by the Italian scientific community (Donato, 2014). The goals of the present chapter are as follows: First, we highlight the specific characteristics of the Italian culture and background that render some features of couples’ coping particularly relevant in this context. Second, we present the available evidence on Italian partners’ dyadic coping. The section includes Italian studies regarding a) the assessment of dyadic coping in the Italian context; b) the impact of different forms of dyadic coping responses to partners’ personal and relational well-being, and the buffering role of dyadic coping in the link between partners’ stress and well-being; c) the congruence of partners’ perceptions in the process of dyadic coping; as well as d) the intergenerational transmission of dyadic coping competences. Finally, the chapter will conclude with the implications for programs aiming at improving couples’ stress management and for dyadic coping research.