Coping concordance in couples

Romantic partners' daily coping behavior can be viewed as a context for one's own coping. These three studies found that individuals were more likely to cope actively, seek support, or use alcohol, food, and drugs as means of coping when they perceived their partners doing so on a given occasion (Study 1, a cross-sectional study) and when their partners reported using these strategies (Studies 2 and 3, longitudinal couples studies). These effects were evident regardless of whether or not one partner was dealing with an acute stressor (Study 2) or if both partners were dealing with day-to-day hassles (Study 3). Although these patterns are correlational, they raise important questions about how individuals choose to cope with acute stressors.