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Article Excerpt
This investigation was conducted to explore the reliability and validity of scores on the French-Canadian version of the Self-Report Coping Scale (SRCS; D. L. Causey & E. F. Dubow, 1992) and that of a short form of the SRCS. Evidence provides initial support for construct validity by replication of the factor structure and correlations with criterion measures
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Over the past decade in the counseling field, considerable attention has been given to the construct of coping. Indeed a wealth of studies investigating outcomes of children, adolescents, and adults following adversities have identified coping as a potential factor linked to an individual's adaptation to stress (Compas, Connor-Smith, Saltzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001; Folkman & Moskowitz, 2004). According to Lazarus and Folkman (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), coping refers to thoughts and behaviors individuals use to deal with the demands of stressful situations. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) proposed a conceptualization of coping as either problem- or emotion-focused. The problem-focused strategies for dealing with stressful situations focus on changing the stressful situation, whereas the emotion-focused strategies are directed at changing one's emotional reaction to the stressor. Roth and Cohen (1986) suggested the approach--avoidance conceptualization as a variation of this model; the primary difference between the two frameworks being that one centers mainly on the focus of coping (problem or emotion), and the other focuses more on the methods of coping being used (approach or avoidance; Moos, 1988). The two frameworks are similar, however, in that both approach- and problem-focused coping refer to behavioral, cognitive, or emotional activities aimed at altering the stressful situation, whereas avoidance- and emotion-focused coping involve more indirect responses aimed at avoiding or distancing oneself from the stressor as well as managing its emotional impact (Moos, 1988; Roecker, Dubow, & Donaldson, 1996).
In recent years, authors have investigated coping as a risk or protective factor for a variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties in children and adolescents. Such studies have generally found that approach coping is related to more positive outcomes, whereas avoidance coping is associated with a greater risk for poor adjustment (Compas, Malcarne, & Fondacaro, 1988; Ebata & Moos, 1991, 1994; Griffith, Dubow, & Ippolito, 2000; Holahan, Moos, & Schaefer, 1996). For instance, Herman-Stahl, Stemmler, and Petersen (1995) found that teenagers who rely primarily on approach coping, when confronted with stressors, report less depressive symptoms than do adolescents who use avoidance coping. Sandler, Tein, and West (1994) have observed similar results in analyzing outcomes in children following parental divorce. Research exploring the link between the coping strategies and the behavior problems of sexually abused children suggests that reliance on avoidance coping to deal with common stressors is associated with greater adjustment difficulties (Tremblay, Hebert, & Piche, 1999). In fact, efficient coping may be a crucial variable in identifying pathways of resilience in children and adults reporting sexual abuse (Banyard, 2003; Hebert, Parent, Daignault, & Tourigny, 2006). Langrock, Compas, Keller, Merchant, and Copeland (2002) found that for children of parents with depression, coping acted as a mediator of the relationship between stressors associated with parental depression and behavior problems. Further evidence of the central role of coping is provided by longitudinal studies in which the development of adolescent depression is predicted by low reliance on approach coping and high reliance on avoidance coping (Herman-Stahl et al., 1995; Seiffge-Krenke & Klessinger, 2000; Seiffge-Krenke & Stemmler, 2002). Reliance on emotion-focused coping is related to greater vulnerability, especially when the use of emotion-focused strategies is to the exclusion of other forms of coping (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, Henry, Chung, & Hunt, 2002).
Researchers have investigated possible correlates of coping strategies in terms of age, gender, and perceived ability to control a given stressful event. Causey and Dubow (1992) reported that children were more likely to make use of approach coping strategies if they perceived a stressful event as more controllable (e.g., receiving a poor grade) as opposed to less controllable (e.g., peer argument). Girls were found to rely more on support seeking (Hampel & Petermann, 2005) and, in general, more likely to use approach-type coping than were boys (Causey & Dubow, 1992). In their sample of fourth to sixth graders, Causey and Dubow did not identify significant age-related differences in regard to coping. However, in a more diverse sample of both children and adolescents, the use of distraction as an emotion-focused coping strategy was found to decrease with age, whereas developmental changes were not evident in problem-solving or seeking social support strategies (Hampel & Petermann, 2005).
Although psychometrically sound measures are essential for theory development and clinical practice, measures evaluating the coping strategies of children are scant, and even fewer have been translated into French. The Self-Report Coping Scale (SRCS; Causey & Dubow, 1992) is designed to evaluate five coping strategies based on Roth and Cohen's (1986) conceptualization of approach/avoidance coping and Ebata and Moos's (1991) internalizing/externalizing distinction for emotion-focused coping strategies. This scale evaluates a child's use of coping strategies when faced with specific stressors that commonly occur in life (e.g., coping with a poor grade or a peer argument). Causey and Dubow examined the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the SRCS scores for 481 elementary school children. The internal consistencies of subscale scores were satisfactory (Cronbach's alphas ranged from .69 to .82 for coping with a poor grade and from .68 to .84 for coping with a peer argument). Evaluation of the 2-week, test-retest stability of the scores provided estimates ranging from .60 to .73 for coping with a poor grade and from .58 to .78 for coping with a peer argument. Causey and Dubow also reported the results of a principal factor analysis with a varimax rotation identifying the five expected factors accounting for 38% of the variance. Diverse criterion indices (peer ratings of the child's coping strategies, self-competence, self-reported anxiety) were found to support the construct validity of scores from the SRCS (Causey & Dubow, 1992).
To our knowledge, no study has yet reported the psychometric properties of scores from a French-Canadian version of the SRCS. The current study aims to provide initial data on two properties: reliability and validity of scores from the French-Canadian version of the SRCS (Causey & Dubow, 1992). Although translation of questionnaires is common practice, translation by itself does not necessarily result in valid and reliable scores. The structure of the translated scale needs to be examined, and statistical analyses are needed to establish the reliability and validity of the scores from the translated scale (Hambleton & De Jong, 2003; van Widenfelt, Treffers, De Beurs, Siebelink, & Koudijs, 2005). In addition, data are presented in regard to the properties of scores derived from a short form of the SRCS. Providing initial data regarding the reliability and validity of test scores derived from the short form of the scale may present considerable advantages for investigators when the research context does not permit the use of time-consuming measures and in the evaluation of younger children.
Two studies are summarized in the current article. The goals of the first study were to provide data on the reliability characteristics of scores from the French-Canadian version of the SRCS: (a) internal consistency and (b) test-retest reliability. Study 1 examined the factor structure of the scale. Data from Study 1 were used to derive a short form of the scale. The objectives of Study 2 were to gather data relative to the psychometric properties of the scores from the short form with an independent sample and to investigate the construct validity by correlating scores with various indices and by contrasting the coping scores of a group of children reporting sexual abuse with the coping scores of children from a paired comparison group of children who were not abused.
STUDY 1: FACTOR STRUCTURE AND RELIABILITY OF SCORES FROM THE FRENCH-CANADIAN VERSION OF THE SRCS
Participants
A total of 191 students (104 girls and 87 boys), ages 7 to 12 years, were recruited from three elementary schools located in the province of Quebec, Canada....
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