Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)

What is the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS)?

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) is a widely used self-report measure that is designed to evaluate the quality of relationships between couples and overall assess relationship satisfaction. It aims to measure key aspects of a marital relationship (or similar dyads), including communication, intimacy, sexual satisfaction, conflict resolution, and overall relationship satisfaction (Spanier, 1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment provides insight into the dynamics of their relationship, allowing you to identify areas of strength and areas that may benefit from improvement.

The DAS consists of 32 items that both partners in relationships rate on differing Likert scales relating to their relationship or marital happiness. This assessment includes four subscales:

• Dyadic consensus: The extent of agreement between partners on matters important to the relationship: religion, recreation, friends, household tasks, and time spent together.
• Dyadic satisfaction: The amount of tension in the relationship, as well as the extent to which the individual has considered ending the relationship.
• Affective expression: The individual’s satisfaction in the expression of affection and sex in the relationship.
• Dyadic cohesion: The common interests and activities that are shared by the couple that contribute to the relationship quality.

Spanier and Thompson (1982), through confirmatory factor analysis, foundthat the scale is overall highly reliable, with a Cronbach's coefficient of 0.96. As such, the DAS is also commonly utilized in research settings that support the implementation of new interventions for couples and can provide insight into the progress they are making.

Our template contains the DAS as it was created by Graham B. Spainer, not the abbreviated or revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale.

How to use our Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) template

Integrating the DAS into your practice is straightforward. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Access the Template

You can do this by clicking the "Use template" button, which opens it in the Carepatron app. From here, you can edit the template before printing, or you can go ahead and fill it out digitally. You can also print it if you want a hard copy. Alternatively, click "Download" to save a non-customizable PDF copy to your device. You can fill that PDF digitally on your device or print it out for physical use by your clients.

Step 2: Administer the DAS

Have each partner independently fill out the DAS questionnaire or administer it as an interview. If using it in research, provide the responding couples their own copies. Both individuals should answer honestly based on their current relationship dynamics, reflecting on their perspectives rather than providing joint answers.

Step 3: Score the DAS

Once both partners have completed the template, score the answers based on the provided guidelines. Be sure to analyze the scores for each of the dimensions that are covered in the DAS. This provides better insight into specific areas of the relationship.

Step 4: Plan for interventions

Discuss the results with the couple in a therapy session, offering insights into the areas of concern and developing personalized strategies for improvement. Use the DAS findings to guide therapy or counseling interventions for marital adjustment, or for community-level policies that support marital wellbeing.

Step 5: Securely store the DAS template

Carepatron has you covered if you want to use this template later. It automatically saves the file onto our secure cloud storage, keeping it private but easy to access. If your clients/respondents completed it outside the app, be sure to keep their responses safe.

Scoring

This template can be scored in two ways. Firstly, sum the total scores to provide an overall score for the DAS.  

• Items 1-22, 25-28, and 32 are scored on a scale from 0 to 5
• Items 23 and 24 are scored on a scale from 0 to 4
• Items 29 and 30 are scored on a scale from 0 to 1
• Item 31 is scored on a scale from 0 to 6

To offer a clearer understanding of the specific areas assessed by the DAS, you can interpret the scores of the individual subscales:

• Dyadic consensus subcale: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7-15
• Dyadic satisfaction scale: 16-23, 31-32 (with reverse scoring for items 16, 17, 20, 21, and 22)
• Dyadic cohesion scale: 24-28
• Affectional expression scale: 4, 6, 29-30 (with reverse scoring for items 29 and 30)

Spanier also used specific cutoff values (Prouty et al., 2000), with scores of less than 101 being considered "Relationally distressed", while scores of 102 and higher are "Relationally non-distressed." However, here is a general guideline for scoring the Dyadic Adjustment Scale:

• Higher scores: generally reflect healthier relationships, where partners feel emotionally connected, satisfied, and able to resolve conflicts effectively.

• Moderate scores: may indicate that there are specific areas in need of improvement but not necessarily significant distress.
• Lower scores: highlight areas of major concern that may require intervention, such as communication breakdowns, emotional disconnection, or conflict patterns that negatively affect the relationship.

Next steps after using the DAS

The DAS can be used in couples' therapy or as a tool in researching populations. Here's what you can do with the insights you get:

Analyze the results

Once the couple has completed the DAS, you can review the scores to identify any patterns or areas where the relationship may be struggling. For example, issues that may commonly occur are communication difficulties and conflict resolution difficulties. Highlighting specific areas of focus allows you to develop targeted interventions for marital satisfaction, or suggest alternative forms of therapeutic support.

Develop targeted interventions

Once specific areas have been identified, work with the couple to create a personalized intervention strategy. This could include a focus on communication skills and training, conflict resolution strategies, or further activities to increase emotional understanding. You can check out the Carepatron resources page for more information and guides to support further implementation.

Monitor progress

Once you have identified and worked with your clients to choose some targeted interventions, you can reassess the relationship using other resources developed for relationship satisfaction or the DAS again. This ensures you can track any improvements and detect ongoing challenges.

Use the insight in supporting couples in the community

If the DAS is used for research, you will gain insights about the populations you targeted in your research. This helps lay the foundation for further research into what causes high or low dyadic adjustment. From there, you may be able to learn what specific factors or problems exist for those populations and be able to help in providing community-level solutions for their issues.

References

Prouty, A. M., Markowski, E. M., & Barnes, H. L. (2000). Using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale in marital therapy: An exploratory study. The Family Journal, 8(3), 250–257. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480700083006

Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.2307/350547

Spanier, G. B., & Thompson, L. (1982). A confirmatory analysis of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44(3), 731. https://doi.org/10.2307/351593