title: Macroscopic marital interaction coding systems: are they interchangeable?
abstract: The present study sought to determine the convergent validity of two macroscopic marital interaction coding systems: the Marital Interaction Coding System-Global and the Global Couple Interaction Coding System. The sample consisted of 40 couples who completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, the Potential Problem Checklist and a 30-min problem solving interactional task. Filmed interactions were coded by separate teams of observers using the Marital Interaction Coding System-Global and the Global Couple Interaction Coding System. Results showed that interobserver agreement, as assessed through intraclass correlations, was satisfactory for both coding systems. Between-system comparisons revealed that convergent validity coefficients were moderate; thus, it seems premature to conclude that macroscopic coding systems are interchangeable. Finally, multiple regression analyses indicated that both systems contained significant non-redundant behavioral predictors of marital adjustment. Implications of these results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bélanger
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabourin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Laughrea
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dulude
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving; D015203:Reproducibility of Results