Factor structure and dyadic measurement invariance of the English version of the dyadic coping inventory measuring low-income couples in the United States

The Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI) is used widely in research with couples as a measure of stress coping between dyads. While several studies examined the factor structure of the DCI, as well as invariance with individual samples, no studies have examined the dyadic measurement invariance. Thus, we conducted a dyadic measurement invariance analysis with a community sample of 1,368 opposite-gendered couples. The DCI displayed a factor structure of five factors for dyadic coping by self or partner and two factors for common dyadic coping. Full configural, metric, scalar, and residual variance invariance were identified for the DCI across dyad members. The latent means comparison showed differences in dyadic coping behavior across dyad members.