Comparing Two Approaches for the Assessment of Coping1Marcus Ising is now at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry, München. Martin Reuter is now at the Department of Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen. Wilhelm Janke is now Professor Emeritus at the Department of Psychology, Julius Maximilians University Würzburg.
Part I. Psychometric Properties and Intercorrelations
Abstract
Abstract. This study compared the psychometric properties of two different conceptions of measures of coping. The Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen (SVF) 120 (Janke & Erdmann, 1997) and related inventories measure coping comprehensively over situations and time, however, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ; Folkman & Lazarus, 1988) measures it for the most stressful situation of the preceding week. We developed a situational WCQ-like version of the SVF120, and 265 participants filled in both the standard SVF120 version (“When I am disturbed, irritated, or upset by something or someone ...”) and the WCQ-like version (“When I was in the situation that disturbed, irritated, or upset me the most during the last 7 days ...”). Results showed comparable reliabilities for the subtests with the two versions correlating between .60 to .80. The VARIMAX rotated factor loadings of a five-factor solution were similar for corresponding factors of both versions. The means of the WCQ version subtests, however, were usually significantly lower. Therefore, both versions are consistent in their measurement of coping, but different instructions lead to quantitative differences in participants' responses.
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