Short report: Inclusion of other in the self scale: An adaptation and exploration in a diverse community sample

Abstract

We adapted the widely used measure of relationship closeness, the Inclusion of Other in Self Scale (IOS), to assess communal coping (IOS-CC). Communal coping is a construct that reflects a shared appraisal of a stressor (“our problem” instead of “my problem”) and collaborative action to manage the stressor. We administered the IOS and the IOS-CC to a racially and economically diverse sample of persons with type 2 diabetes and their partners (n = 207 couples) and examined how a subset (n = 85 couples) interpreted the IOS-CC as well as the IOS. The IOS-CC was largely interpreted as intended. The IOS reflected interpersonal connection, as expected, but also a number of other relationship constructs. The IOS-CC and IOS were positively related, but empirically distinguished by stronger connections of the IOS-CC to communal coping and stronger connections of the IOS to relationship quality. Future researchers should consider using the IOS-CC to measure communal coping when a simple, visual, and less time-intensive measure is needed and consider the different ways the IOS is conceptualized by diverse populations.

Keywords

Close relationships closeness communal coping Inclusion of Other in Self

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