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Exploring the measurement and structure of children’s coping through the development of a short form of coping

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Jodie Lodge
Jodie Lodge*
Affiliation:
The University of Melbourne
*
Leadership and Organisational Learning, Faculty of Education, Level 3, 234 Queensberry Street, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Email: lodge@unimelb.edu.au
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Abstract

The aim of this article is to describe the development of a short version of the Coping Scale for Children (CSC) for situations in which use of the full form is precluded by time constraints or the demands of other measures. Utilizing data from prior studies (e.g., jones & Frydenberg, 2004; Larkins & Frydenberg, 2004) a short form was constructed and the psychometric properties investigated with schoolchildren (N = 379) drawn from primary schools in Metropolitan Melbourne. Using Principal Components Analysis with Varimax rotation, two dimensions of coping (Adaptive Coping and Maladaptive Coping) were found to be both robust ond suitable for investigating styles of coping with stress in preadolescent children aged 10- to 12- years. In addition, this poper analysed associations between the resulting factors and self-esteem, as assessed by the Weinberger Adjustment Inventory (Weinberger, Feldman, & Ford, 1989). The CSCSF appears to have promising applications as a short measure of critical dimensions of coping in preadolescent children, with good psychometric properties.

Keywords

Children’s copingA short form of coping
Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , 2006 , pp. 35 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 2006

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