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Assessment of Coping Styles and Strategies with

School-Related Stress
KAZIMIERZ WRZESNIEWSKI and JOANNA CHYLINSKA
Faculty of Psychology, Warsaw University, Poland

ABSTRACT A review of the relevant literature indicates a lack of


measurement techniques for coping styles and strategies with schoolrelated stress. This study presents the procedure of constructing The
Coping with School-related Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ), which makes
it possible to investigate dispositional as well as situational aspects of
coping. Theoretical assumptions are based on the interactive model of
coping with stress, which distinguishes styles and strategies of coping
with school-related stress. CSSQ consists of 2 forms: Form A is
designed to examine coping styles; Form B is designed to examine
strategies of coping with school-related stress. On the basis of several
factorial analyses three scales of the CSSQ have been distinguished:
task, emotion and avoidance coping. The score is assessed for each
scale separately. The psychometric coefficients of CSSQ are satisfactory. CSSQ is designed for adolescents, aged 1516. Further research
concerning its diagnostic qualities among different age groups needs to
be conducted.
KEY WORDS: assessment of coping; coping strategies; coping styles;

interactive model of coping; school-related stress

Introduction
The interactive paradigm, encompassing both situational and dispositional factors has become increasingly popular and has proved to be
useful in research (see Carver et al., 1989; Endler and Parker, 1999;
Wrzesniewski, 1996; Wrzesniewski and W!odarczyk, 2001; Zeidner,
1995). This approach, however, encounters difficulties when empirical
verification of both groups of variables is required. One of the questions
to answer is the selection of appropriate measurement techniques.
Please address correspondence to: Dr Kazimierz Wrzesniewski, Warsaw
University, Faculty of Psychology, 00183 Warsaw, ul. Stawki 517, Poland.
Email: jchylinska@engram.psych.uw.edu.pl
School Psychology International Copyright 2007 SAGE Publications (Los
Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore), Vol. 28(2): 179194.
DOI: 10.1177/0143034307078096

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School Psychology International (2007), Vol. 28(2)


Usually, authors use separate assessment devices for measuring different categories of coping with stress. Subsequently, the interpretation of
the results becomes rather difficult. The case is especially complex
when we want to conduct research on coping with stress among children and adolescents as measures need to take account of the age of the
participants.
It has been shown that the number of strategies applied in a stressful situation increases with age or with experience in that kind of
situation (Blount et al., 1991). Moreover, the type of chosen response
also changes, as is demonstrated in a number of studies documenting
differences in the use of certain coping strategies depending on the age
of participants. Ryan (1989) found that the strategy used most often by
8-year-olds was social support, but by 9-year-olds, verbal aggression
and avoidance. Eleven-year-olds displayed most physical activity and
12-year-olds preferred relaxation and cognitive activities. Differences
were also reported among adolescents aged 1318 (Groer et al., 1992).
Moreover, there is some evidence that, when coping with uncontrollable events, youngsters tend to use emotion-focused coping, while
problem-oriented responses targeting modification of the situation
are less in evidence. Age differences in applied coping strategies are
apparent regardless of the type of assessment measure used (see also
Frynberg and Lewis, 1991; Ryan, 1989; Seiffke-Krenke, 1990; 1993).
Some coping strategies are employed in relation to environmental
and personal factors. Age of investigated children and adolescents may
play a crucial role in distinguishing the importance of these factors.
The results show that 1519 year-old adolescents use consistent
patterns of coping strategies, but this consistency remains only within
a certain domain. In other words, young people react differently when
their problems pertain to school and when the stressor is connected
with parents (Seiffke-Krenke, 1990, 1993). The study of Boekaerts
(1996) showed that one type of strategy dominates when school
stressors are considered and another when we take into account interpersonal stressors. Additionally, the type of events that trigger
stress, changes with age. Amongst children and adolescents up to
the age of 14, the most salient role play stressors concern the family
environment, while older groups name school problems and peer
stressors as the most relevant (Compas et al., 1989).
The importance of school-related stress is difficult to overestimate.
Lohman and Jarvis (2000) reported that the most prevalent cause
of stress named by adolescents was problems related to school, as
reported by 100 percent of girls and 96 percent of boys. Also, some
researchers have hypothesized that difficulties in coping with schoolrelated stress may be a first step toward development of chronic fatigue
syndrome (Kulik and Szewczyk, 2003). A growing body of studies
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concerning examination stress, which might be also considered as
school-related stress, adds to the importance of this subject (Schwarzer
and Buchwald, 2003). For these reasons it was considered worthwile to
prepare a measuring technique designed specifically for this distinctly
important area of adolescent life.
Existing questionnaires that measure coping with stress in children
and adolescents do not take account of all the conditions mentioned
above. Authors of stress assessment devices often do not specify what
kind of coping they intend to measure: a stable disposition in the
form of coping with stress or responses of a person in a certain type of
stressful encounter (Boekaerts, 1996). Another quite common shortcoming, of questionnaires for adults as well, is that the instruments are
not derived from a theoretical framework (Schwarzer and Schwarzer,
1996; Zeidner, 1995).
There are quite a few measures which assess coping strategies
among adolescents, however, it is difficult to identify even one which is
designed to assess coping with school-related stress directly. Usually,
scales tend to contain items regarding school problems, but the score is
considered to indicate strategies of coping with stress in general.
A variety of available techniques is presented in Boekaerts (1996)
work. She discusses three groups of techniques: (1) questionnaires listing stressful events or daily hassles; (2) observation and case studies
and (3) coping strategies inventories. It seems, that the second group
could be extended also by interviews.
Since there is an available literature discussing the subject, we limit
the presentation of various techniques to single examples from each
group, with particular attention given to the problem of including the
school-related stress and coping aspects.
(1) The first group of instruments mentioned above does not actually
pertain to coping, but deals with an amount of stress experienced by
adolescents. As has been mentioned, there is no scale which considers
school-related stress only. Authors wishing to conduct research usually
have to rely on single items derived from more general lists. An example of this approach is the study of Torsheim et al. (2003) who used two
subscales in their research (one derived from Health Behaviour in
School-aged Children, consisting of three items and a two-item High
Academic Expectations scale (Samdal et al., 1998).
(2) In the study of Seiffge-Krenke et al. (2001) The Coping Process
Interview (Seiffge-Krenke, 1993) was used to evaluate coping with
school-related stress, understood in terms of getting a bad grade. The
interview consists of seven open questions pertaining to information in
the following domains: (i) the definition of the situation a description
of the stressful event in detail; (ii) the context in which the event
occurred; (iii) the subjective interpretation of the causes; (iv) the
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School Psychology International (2007), Vol. 28(2)


appraisal of the event as threatening, challenging or loss; (v) the
coping process including thoughts, feelings, and actions to deal with
the stressor; (vi) the evaluation of intended and achieved effects and
(vii) the reappraisal. The interview covers a wide variety of issues,
moreover, it makes it possible to investigate school-related stress.
However, it should be conducted individually and is therefore rather
time consuming.
(3) The method elaborated by Dise-Lewis (1988) Life Events and
Coping Inventory (LECI) is a combination of a checklist of 125 potentially stressful life events and 49 coping strategies. On the base of a
factor analysis five empirical scales have been formed: Aggression,
Stress recognition, Distraction, Self-destruction and Endurance. The
questionnaire is appropriate for 1114 years old. Participants are
asked to select events that they have experienced within the recent
year, rate their stressfulness and identify appropriate coping strategies. However, the questionnaire does not rely on a theory as the
process of construction was empirical. Furthermore, it does not address
the problems of school-related coping directly.
The facts reported above were the inspiration for the construction of
a questionnaire for adolescents, which would be free of the identified
weaknesses. Preceeding work on the stress assessment tool, the following rules were established. First of all, the questionnaire should be
well settled in a specific psychological theory. Secondly, it had to cover
both facets of coping and, as a result, assessment of both dispositional
and situational factors should be possible. Thirdly, it was required to
clearly state the category of stressful situations and age of people it
was designed for. Fourthly, it should be characterized by satisfactory
reliability and validity coefficients.
Theoretical assumptions of the Coping with School-Related Stress
Questionnaire (CSSQ) are discussed below. Further we briefly outline
the procedure of preparing the questionnaire, studies aimed at identifying diagnostic items, as well as reliability and validity research.
Finally, we present the questionnaires psychometric properties and
possible ways of application.

Theoretical bases of the Coping with School-related Stress


Questionnaire (CSSQ)
In the well known theory of Lazarus and Folkman, coping with stress is
understood in terms of a transactional process (Folkman et al., 1986;
Lazarus, 1980, 1993; Lazarus and Folkman, 1984, 1987). That implies
that there is not only an interaction between a person and an environment, but there are also simultaneous changes within the person and
the environment over time. This approach triggers several theoretical
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and, in particular, methodological difficulties (Wrzesniewski, 1996;
Wrzesniewski and W!odarczyk, 2001). The most important one regards
empirical verification of such a complex and dynamic process. Measuring the phenomenon, when all the variables change as well as
interactions between them, is very difficult. Troubles start from the
very beginning when a decision about the aspect of coping which is
going to be assessed is required, then, difficulties with identification of
appropriate indicators emerge and finally, acquired results might be
difficult to interpret. For this reason an interactional model rather
than the transactional approach is proposed. In this model coping
styles, strategies and coping processes are distinguished (Wrzesniewski, 1996; 2001; Wrzesniewski and Wlodarczyk, 2001). Coping style is
defined as a stable personality disposition to cope with different stressful situations in a given way. This disposition does not depend on any
kind of a stressful encounter, as it is an attribute of the person. Nevertheless, that does not mean that it influences coping with all stressful
situations in the same way, as coping with a particular situation
depends on several other factors. Coping strategies are cognitive
and behavioural efforts people make to manage a specific stressful
situation. Truancy during a test or instrumental aggression after a
quarrel with a colleague are examples of a coping strategies in school
environment The coping process is a sequence of altering strategies
accompanying changes within the situation (Wrzesniewski, 1996;
Wrzesniewski and W!odarczyk, 2001).
In their conception, Lazarus and Folkman (1984) ascribe a fundamental part in coping with stress to stress appraisal. A similar
assumption is made in the interactional model. In the proposed interactional model two kind of stress appraisal were distinguished:
dispositional and situational. Dispositional stress appraisal is a stable,
personality based tendency to appraise different stressful situations in
a similar way. This disposition determines individual differences in
perceiving and interpreting occurring events. This variable allows us to
explain why different people perceive the same situation differently
and why the same person perceives different situations in similar
categories (Wlodarczyk, 1999; Wrzesniewski and Wlodarczyk, 2001).
The distinction between dispositional and situational stress
appraisal is coherent with the previously given distinction between
coping styles and coping strategies. It corresponds very well with the
commonly known conception of trait-state anxiety by Spielberger
(Spielberger et al., 1970).
Strategies of coping with school-related stress depend directly and
indirectly on several factors. As well as the coping style and situational
appraisal mentioned earlier, an equally important part is played by
current psycho-physical conditions of a person and their family
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School Psychology International (2007), Vol. 28(2)

Present life
situation

Current
Psycho-physical
state

Figure 1

School-related
stressful
situation

Gender,
personality and
other stable
individual traits

Situational
stress
appraisal

Dispositional
stress
appraisal

COPING
STRATEGY

COPING
STYLE

Interactive model of coping with school-related stress

situation (especially noteworthy is the nature of their relationship with


their parents, relationship between parents and economic status of the
family). An applied strategy is also influenced by gender, personality
(e.g. self-efficacy, level of need of achievement, level of optimism) and
other stable characteristics of an individual, such as temperament. The
directions of the relationships between components of the model as
illustrated in Figure 1 are hypothetical and require further empirical
verification. The theoretical assumptions, briefly discussed here,
compose a framework for the Coping with School-related Stress
Questionnaire.

Preliminary version of the Coping with School-related Stress


Questionnaire (CSSQ)
When preparing to construct the questionnaire, a rational-empirical
approach was chosen. Based on the specific theoretical framework,
the preliminary version of the questionnaire was prepared and then
administered to a group of participants. Factor analysis was performed;
empirically derived factors were then compared with theoretical scales.
Referring to the work of Endler and Parker (1994, 1999), three types
of coping with stress were defined: task-oriented, emotion-oriented and
avoidance-oriented.
In the first type of coping an individual engages in activities or
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behavioural reconstruction of the situation. In the second type of
coping an individual focuses on the self and his/her own emotional
experiences and at the same time acts so as to reduce the emotional
tension related to the stressful situation. The third type of coping
demonstrates the tendency to avoid thinking, feeling and experiencing
the stressful situation by engaging in substitute activities.
For each of three categories 30 items were prepared and rated by an
independent, competent judge. The task of a judge was to give each
item a rating, ranging from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning that the item did not
reflect the category at all; 2 that the item was poorly reflected; 3 that
the item was rather reflected; 4 that the item was well reflected and 5
that the item very well reflected the category. Seventy-six items matching the category well or very well were included in the preliminary
version. In this set, there were 21 items dealing with task-oriented
coping, 37 dealing with emotion-oriented coping and 18 dealing with
avoidance-oriented coping.
This preliminary questionnaire was administered to 293 high-school
students, 114 boys and 179 girls, aged 1516. The task of each participant was to recall a stressful situation that had happened recently at
school and then, to mark on a four-point Liekert scale whether a particular response occurred due to the recalled situation. A statement
was included into a factor when a factor loading was 0.35 or more
and had simultaneous negative or low loadings of the remaining two
factors. Obtained empirical scales were compared with rational scales.
Only the items consistent on both the theoretical and empirical level
were included in the final questionnaire. On the basis of this selection
42 items were acquired, among which 15 were task-oriented, 13
emotion-oriented and 14 avoidance-oriented (Zalewska, 1994).1
Since a few empirical items were inconsistent with theoretical
scales, and also since 34 items were nondiagnostic, work on the final
version of the CSSQ was continued. Another argument in favour of
further elaboration of the CSSQ was the wish to construct an instrument which could be used to diagnose both styles and strategies of
coping with school-related stress.

Coping style and coping strategies questionnaire


By this means, two versions of the questionnaire, A and B, were prepared. The major difference between the two is in the instruction. Form
A is designed to assess coping styles. Pupils are asked to respond by
indicating how they usually behave in different school-related stressful
situations. Form B is concerned with coping strategies. Participants
are asked to mark answers with reference to a specific stressful
encounter related to school. The items in the two questionnaires
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School Psychology International (2007), Vol. 28(2)


Table 1 Factorial analysis of the CSSQ, Form A and Form B for
girls, n = 393

Factor 1

Item

Form A
Factor I Loadings

17
28
3
2
22
25
31
37
12
6
34

0.708
0.674
0.666
0.624
0.619
0.619
0.618
0.573
0.573
0.506
0.506

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

33
14
16
1
42
24
36
11
27
5

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

0.662
0.603
0.581
0.559
0.552
0.541
0.536
0.392
0.366
n.s.

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

Form B
Item Factor II Loadings
10
29
20
39
13
35
38
7
23
4

3.434
10.4

10
29
13
35
20
23
7
39
32
38
4
21

0.695
0.683
0.670
0.653
0.634
0.628
0.612
0.610
0.582
0.545
0.524
n.s.
4.785
14.5

0.657
0.648
0.589
n.s.
0.527
0.476
0.465
0.439
0.432
0.424
3.361
10.2

Form A
Item Factor III Loadings
Factor III

17
3
28
37
12
31
2
25
22
34
6
32

4.557
13.8
Form A
Item Factor II Loadings

Factor II

Form B
Item Factor I Loadings

0.654
0.640
0.561
0.524
0.511
0.479
0.471
n.s.
0.388
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.

Form B
Item Factor III Loadings
33
14
36
24
1
21
16
27
42
11
5

2.561
7.8

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0.712
0.588
0.586
0.546
0.502
0.474
0.469
0.460
0.429
0.353
n.s.
2.958
9.0

Wrzesniewski and Chylinska: Coping Styles and Strategies


also differ with respect to grammatical form. Both forms of the CSSQ
consist of 42 items. New items were substituted for the ones which did
not conform with the theoretical scales. The questionnaires, thus
prepared, were administered to 696 1st-grade high-school pupils (393
girls and 303 boys), aged 1516 from five secondary schools in Warsaw.
In between the completion of the first and the second questionnaire
pupils were given the Marlow-Crown Social Desirability Scale and the
BWZ Questionnaire measuring Type A behaviour pattern (these data
were analysed elsewhere). Half of the participants filled in Form A of
the CSSQ first and Form B second, the other half filled in the questionnaires in the opposite order.
The responses were factor-analysed (Varimax rotation), with a limitation to three factors (three types of coping), separately for boys and
girls. As in the previous studies, the criteria of inclusion in a factor
were a factor loading of 0.35 or more and negative or low loadings on
the remaining factors.
Table 1 provides a comparison of positive loadings for girls on Forms
A and B on each of the three factors. It can be seen that a considerable
degree of concordance occurs with the exception of items 4, 5, 11, 21, 35.
A similar comparison for boys of factor loadings on Forms A and B is
shown in Table 2. Here a slightly different strength of effect is shown
on factors two and three. The slightly weaker loadings here are seen on
items 5, 11, 21, 32. Table 3 provides the factor loadings for the whole
group taken together on Forms A and B.
The next step was to compare empirically derived scales with theoretical ones. We acquired full concordance between empirical Factor
one and a scale theoretically defined as Task-oriented coping. Nine out
of ten items on Factor two were consistent with the theoretical scale
defined as emotion-orieted coping.
The final three scales of the CSSQ are presented in Appendix 1. Each
scale is scored separately by summing up the reponse weights according to the scoring key.
Conducted correlation analysis confirm also considerable independence of the scales.
Correlation between scales coefficients obtained separately for girls
and boys, in Form A and Form B are low and range from 0.017 to
0.286.
Correlational analyses were also conducted for the purpose of the
assessment of the possible social desirability bias. The obtained coefficients between three scales of the CSSQ and the Marlow-Crown Social
Desirability Scale range from 0.06 to 0.20. These findings confirm
that the responses in both forms of the CSSQ are not biased by social
desirability.

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Table 2 Factorial analysis of the CSSQ, Form A and Form B for
boys, n = 303
Item
Factor 1

28
6
2
17
12
25
22
31
37
34
3

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

Form A
Factor I Loadings
0.762
0.748
0.745
0.741
0.719
0.692
0.679
0.630
0.628
0.597
0.566
5.975
18.1

Form A
Item Factor II Loadings
Factor II

14
33
36
24
16
42
5
27
1
21
11

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

0.704
0.637
0.615
0.609
0.581
0.579
0.543
0.506
0.449
0.375
n.s.
3.887
11.8

Form A
Item Factor III Loadings
Factor III

39
29
23
4
10
20
13
38
7
32
35

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

0.694
0.669
0.646
0.604
0.591
0.500
0.444
0.383
n.s.
n.s.
n.s.
2.788
8.4

Form B
Item Factor I Loadings
31
2
28
12
25
22
17
37
6
34
3

0.742
0.705
0.695
0.693
0.688
0.662
0.653
0.651
0.606
0.503
0.364
5.461
16.5

Form B
Item Factor II Loadings
33
36
5
14
16
24
27
1
42
11
21

0.628
0.615
0.583
0.582
0.530
0.529
0.525
0.474
0.463
n.s.
n.s.
3.477
10.5

Form B
Item Factor III Loadings
29
39
10
7
20
4
13
35
38
23
32

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0.653
0.634
0.567
0.552
0.518
0.511
0.497
0.456
0.406
0.397
n.s.
2.747
8.3

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Table 3 Factorial analysis of the CSSQ, Form A and Form B, for the
entire group, n = 696

Factor 1

Item

Form A
Factor I Loadings

17
28
2
25
22
12
3
31
6
37
34

0.720
0.703
0.676
0.649
0.636
0.632
0.628
0.621
0.614
0.594
0.545

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

29
39
23
10
20
4
13
35
38
7
32

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

0.732
0.642
0.633
0.613
0.550
0.525
0.488
0.453
0.417
0.372
n.s.
3.589
10.9

Form A
Item Factor III Loadings
Factor III

14
33
24
16
42
36
1
27
5
11
21

Eigenvalue
% of Explained Variance

28
17
31
12
2
37
25
22
3
6
34
32

5.110
15.5
Form A
Item Factor II Loadings

Factor II

Form B
Item Factor I Loadings

0.659
0.622
0.590
0.577
0.555
0.530
0.509
0.452
0.413
0.345
n.s.
2.683
8.1

0.684
0.681
0.678
0.660
0.655
0.650
0.644
0.611
0.566
0.558
0.522
n.s.
5.066
15.4

Form B
Item Factor II Loadings
29
39
10
20
23
38
13
35
4
7

0.725
0.680
0.621
0.558
0.539
0.504
0.486
0.476
0.470
0.447
3.332
10.1

Form B
Item Factor III Loadings
33
14
36
24
27
16
1
5
42
21
11

0.658
0.597
0.565
0.544
0.504
0.494
0.486
0.445
0.440
0.399
0.365
2.983
8.9

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Table 4
Gender
Girls (N=393)
Boys (N=303)

CSSQ. Form A

CSSQ. Form B

Task Emotion Avoidance


0.856
0.790
0.742
0.863
0.783
0.737

Task Emotion Avoidance


0.843
0.775
0.725
0.840
0.757
0.704

Reliability and validity


The reliability of CSSQ was calculated by the internal consistency coefficient. Values of the Cronbach alpha for CSSQ Forms A and B are
presented in Table 4.
The theoretical validity of the CSSQ was assessed by comparing the
items which made up the empirical scales (following factor analyses)
with the theoretical scale items. As already mentioned, each of the
items producing the respective empirical scales was also included in
the theoretical scales. The procedure used in the study corresponds
with the method of distinguishing coping styles by Endler and Parker.
Present findings show that percent of explained variance changes
depending on the aspect of coping as well as on the examined subsample. Three factors of Form A in girls account for 32 percent of
explained variance, for 38.30 percent in boys and for 34.50 percent in
the entire group. Analogical results for Form B are 33.70 percent for
girls, 35.30 percent for boys and 34.40 percent for the entire group.
Data presented in Tables 1 to 6 are very consistent, as the same factor
structure was revealed in all the analyses. Additionally, independence
of the three scales of the CSSQ was confirmed in the study, which is in
full concordance with theoretical assumptions.

Discussion and conclusions


The elaborated Coping with School-related Stress Questionnaire is
based on the interactive paradigm of coping with stress and is designed
for adolescents, aged 1516. One of the unquestionable strengths of the
present instrument is its settlement in the psychological theory. The
construction of many coping inventories targeting children and youth
was mainly empirical, and not well balanced with rational procedures,
while in case of the CSSQ the scales emerged as a result of both types of
steps. What is noteworthy is, unlike other coping inventories, the
CSSQ addresses school-stress directly and is designed for a specific age
group.
The presented model encompasses situational and dispositional
factors. Subsequently, the CSSQ consists of two forms: A and B. Form
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A is for coping styles and Form B is used to assess strategies employed
Therefore, it meets the standards of covering both facets of coping.
Both forms consist of the same 42 items, the difference is in the instruction given to participants. In Form A, a person is asked to respond by
indicating how he or she usually behaves in various stressful situations
at school. In Form B answers pertain to a specific stressful encounter
given in the instruction. A subject responds to each item on the
four-pont Liekert scale. Thirty out of 42 items are diagnostic: 11 for
task-oriented coping, nine for emotion-oriented coping and ten for
avoidance-oriented coping. The remaining 12 items are buffers. The
score is assessed for each scale separately, in Form A as well as in
Form B.
As a result of several factorial analyses, three scales of the CSSQ
were distinguished: task, emotion and avoidance coping. Therefore, the
technique is compatible with the leading coping instruments. Although
a stable factor structure was obtained in the study, only moderate percents of explained variance were acquired. These findings give support
for the interactional model of coping, where specific aspects of coping
are strongly related to various factors named in the model, however,
further research on validity of the measure is necessary.
Another limitation of the study pertains to the sample of participants, who came from Warsaw secondary schools. In order to generalize
conclusions it would be necessary to perform wider randomized trials.
In general, it has to be concluded that the presented instrument may
be successfully applied in the school context for measuring coping
among adolescents. It is designed specifically for this age group and
relates to school stress understood in a broad sense. These qualities
make the CSSQ a valuable measurement technique. Further research
concerning its diagnostic qualities among different age groups should
be conducted, which is an especially vital issue for practicing school
psychologists, who wish to use this method for diagnostic purposes.
Until the normative data are gathered, the CSSQ should be applied as
a research technique only.

Notes
Support for this work was partly provided by the Department of Psychology,
Warsaw University, grant number 1695/15.
1. The data were partly collected within the Master thesis of H. Zalewska.

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Appendix 1
Item
number
2
3
6
12
17
22
25
28
31
34
37

Task-oriented coping
I try to anticipate and prevent possible further troubles
I attempt various forms of action to solve the problem
I seek information which could help me to solve my problem
I try to analyse my position and find the cause of my problem
I try to get rid of my problems systematically and gradually
I concentrate completely on solving the problem
Before taking any steps I consider what choice to make
I try to act methodically and rationally
I organize my life and what I am to do
I try to develop my skills and potentials
I change these elements in my behaviour which may have contributed to the problem
Emotion-oriented coping

4
7
10
13
20
23
29
32
35
38
39

I complain to someone in the family


I think of times when I felt better
I feel sorry for myself
I imagine how different things could be
I ask various people to give me their opinion about what has
happened to me
I relieve myself by crying
I complain to friends
I accuse myself of procrastinating
I am mad and yell at people
I ask a classmate for help
I talk with friends about what I experience
Avoidance-oriented coping

1
5
11
14
16
21
24
27
33
36
42

I listen to music
I watch TV
I sleep more
I go to the cinema
I go shopping, buy myself something I like
I miss classes
I watch films on the video
I drink beer, wine or liquor
I socialize
I spend time with my sweetheart
I joke and retain my sense of humor

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