Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire Among Couples in India

The aim of the present study was to translate the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) into the Tamil language and examine its psychometric properties in the Indian cultural context. Data were collected from a dyadic sample of 340 married heterosexual couples (N = 680) currently residing in India. The mean age of husbands was 39.57 (SD = 6.10; 26 ≥ range ≤ 58), and the wives’ was 35.33 (SD = 5.72; 23 ≥ range ≤ 54). Descriptive results indicated that husbands and wives reported similar levels of interpersonal emotion regulation. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a 20-item model with four factors—enhancing positive affect, perspective-taking, soothing and social modeling, similar to the original version, fits the data well. Furthermore, the multiple-group analysis indicated robust measurement invariance across gender (husbands vs. wives), family type (joint vs. nuclear) and marriage type (arranged vs. love), indicating that the Tamil version of the IERQ operates similarly across these groups. Besides, the Tamil version of the IERQ showed good convergent and discriminant validity with measures of dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction. Implications for research and couples therapy in the Indian cultural context are discussed

Coping with global uncertainty: Perceptions of COVID-19 psychological distress, relationship quality, and dyadic coping for romantic partners across 27 countries

Article first published online: August 26, 2021Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the “new normal”—social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator between experiences of COVID-19 psychological distress and relationship quality. To examine these associations, self-report data from 14,020 people across 27 countries were collected during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (March–July, 2020). It was hypothesized that higher symptoms of psychological distress would be reported post-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 restrictions (Hypothesis 1), reports of post-COVID-19 psychological distress would be negatively associated with relationship quality (Hypothesis 2), and perceived partner DC would moderate these associations (Hypothesis 3). While hypotheses were generally supported, results also showed interesting between-country variability. Limitations and future directions are presented