The Dual Employed Coping Scales (DECS) were developed to measure coping behaviors and patterns of dual-employed families. The original DECS (58 self-report items) was administered to a sample of 60 individuals in dual-employed families. In another study, in which 69 dual-employed couples completed the DECS and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales, factor analytic procedures for the DECS yielded 49 items with internal reliability and 4 patterns of coping: (1) maintaining, restructuring, and strengthening the family system; (2) procurement of support to maintain family roles; (3) modifying roles and standards to maintain work/family balance; and (4) maintaining a positive perspective on the lifestyle and reducing tension and strains. Analysis of DECS data suggested gender role differentiation in dual-employed coping styles. Dual-employed wives used significantly more coping behaviors than their husbands, with much effort focused on accommodating their work to their family. Successful family adaptation also related to the wives' attempts to accommodate work to family, while the husbands' use of time for personal coping behaviors such as exercising appeared to interfere with family adaptation. Results of the study support the DECS as a tool for measuring dual-employed family coping behaviors. (MCF)