Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T12:36:29.964Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The stability of the Ways of Coping (Revised) Questionnaire over time in parents of children with Down's syndrome: a research note

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

C. Hatton ,
C. Knussen ,
P. Sloper  and
S. Turner
C. Hatton*
Affiliation:
Hester Adrian Research Centre and CRC Education and Child Studies Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Manchester; Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow
C. Knussen
Affiliation:
Hester Adrian Research Centre and CRC Education and Child Studies Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Manchester; Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow
P. Sloper
Affiliation:
Hester Adrian Research Centre and CRC Education and Child Studies Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Manchester; Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow
S. Turner
Affiliation:
Hester Adrian Research Centre and CRC Education and Child Studies Research Group, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Manchester; Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow
*
1Address for correspondence: Mr Christopher Hatton, Hester Adrian Research Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

The stability of the Ways of Coping (Revised) Questionnaire over time was assessed by comparing the scores of 68 mothers and 53 fathers of school-aged children with Down's syndrome over a 3-year time interval on the five coping strategy subscales described by Knussen et al. (1992). For this analysis, mothers' and fathers' scores were analysed separately. It was shown by t tests that mothers' and fathers' scores on the coping strategy subscales had not significantly changed over the three-year period. Time 1 and Time 2 scores on all of the coping subscales were strongly positively associated, with the exception of fathers' scores on the Stoicism subscale. Test–retest reliability was adequate for all subscales except mothers' scores on the Passive Acceptance subscale and fathers' scores on the Stoicism subscale. These results, by demonstrating the stability of the Ways of Coping (Revised) Questionnaire over a 3-year time period, further illustrate the utility of this instrument for investigating coping in families with special problems.

Type
Brief Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , March 1995 , pp. 419 - 422
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Byrne, E. A. & Cunningham, C. C. (1985). The effects of mentally handicapped children on families – a conceptual review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 26, 847–864.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Donovan, A. M. (1988). Family stress and ways of coping with adolescents who have mental handicaps: maternal perceptions. American Journal on Mental Retardation 92, 502–509.Google ScholarPubMed
Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48, 150–170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friedrich, W. N., Wilturner, L. T. & Cohen, D. S. (1985). Coping resources and parenting mentally retarded children. American Journal on Mental Retardation 90, 130–139.Google ScholarPubMed
Knussen, C., Sloper, P., Cunningham, C. C. & Turner, S. (1992). The use of the Ways of Coping (Revised) questionnaire with parents of children with Down's syndrome. Psychological Medicine 22, 775–786.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarus, R. S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. Springer Publishing Co: New York.Google Scholar
Norušis, M./SPSS Inc. (1992). SPSS for Windows: Base System User's Guide, Release 5·0. SPSS Inc.: Chicago.Google Scholar
Sloper, P., Cunningham, C. C., Knussen, C. & Turner, S. (1988). A Study of the Process of Adaptation in a Cohort of Children with Down's Syndrome and their Families. University of Manchester, Final Report to DHSS: Manchester.Google Scholar
Sloper, P., Knussen, C., Turner, S. & Cunningham, C. C. (1991). Factors related to stress and satisfaction with life in families of children with Down's syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 32, 655–676.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vitaliano, P. P., Maiuro, R. D., Russo, J. & Becker, J. (1987). Raw versus relative scores in the assessment of coping strategies. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 10, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed