Marital Stress

Title

Eckenrode Marital Stress Scale

Study

PMBC

Primary Reference

Norris, F. H. & Uhl, G. A. (1993). Chronic stress as a mediator of acute stress: The case of Hurricane Hugo. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23(16), 1263-1284.

Scale was based on the following work:

Eckenrode, J. (1984). Impact of chronic and acute stressors on daily reports of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 907-918.

Purpose

To assess the amount of stress present in the marital relationship in the past 6 months

Description

Participants are asked whether or not they have experienced specific marital stressors in the past 6 months.  If they have experienced a specific stressor in the past 6 months, they are asked to indicate how often they have experienced that stressor.

Scaling

For specific stressors: Yes/No

For frequency scale: 1=Almost Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Fairly Often, 4=Very Often

Number of Items

3

Psychometrics

In a sample of 1,000 adults (Norris, 1993):

Internal Reliability of Frequency Scale: alpha=0.79

In PMBC:

Internal Reliability of Frequency Scale:  alpha=0.85

Scoring

Marital Stress Total Score: Sum Frequency Scores from Items 1,2,3

Variables

Total Marital Stress Score