ANNEXURE - III

Coping Strategies Scale

The scale assesses the extent to which people use various strategies (such as approach,
avoidance, cognitive and combination of the preceding three) to deal with the stressful
situations in their day-to-day life. Choose any of the five alternative responses for each
coping strategy to indicate the frequency of their use in your dealing with the stressful
situations.

Since, the scale comprises the items on coping strategies of different categories, must be
added up separately to assess the extent of use of different modes of coping. However, to
assess overall coping, the scope on all the items may be added up.

SI. Statement Never Rarely Some­ Quite Almost

No. times Often Always
1 2 3 4 5
1. Accept the situation because
there is nothing I can do to
change it or to get rid of it.
2. Devote more time and energy
to meet the demands of the
situation.
->
Discuss with others who
could do something concrete
about the solution of the
problem.
4. Ask people who have had
similar experience “What did
they do”?
5. Take the situation as an
opportunity to learn, and do
what is expected of them.
6. Change my priorities and
time distribution in order to
effectively cope with the
situation.
7. Come up with a couple of
alternative solutions to the
problem.
8. Bargain or compromise to
get something positive from
the situation.
9. Blame myself for the present
situation and feel guilty and
depressed.
10. Change to leisure tasks
which necessarily being
immediate relief.

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SI. Statement Never Rarely Some­ Quite Almost
No. times Often Always
1 2 3 4 5
11. Consider the situation as a
part of fate or desire of God
and try to copy with it
patiently
12. Instead of misinterpreting or
exaggerating the situation,
appraise it objectively and take
direct action to deal with it.
13. Consider the stressful
situations as inevitable part of
life and deal with them in usual
manner.
14. Console myself with the hope
that things would be better next
time and accept the situation.
15. Devote more time to prayer and
religious thoughts.
16. Delegate some of the
responsibilities to others.
17. Console myself with the
thought that the situation is not
that bad as it could have been,
and deal with positive affect.
18. Try to get sympathy and
1
understanding from others
i
without doing much to deal 1

with the situation.

19. Try to get out of the situation I

gracefully. i

20. Read aggressively to those who

are responsible for the
situation.
21. Keep the aroused feelings
confined to myself, and deal
with the situation in depressed
mood.
22. Leave it for others to decide or
resolve the problem.
23. Appraise and deal with the
situation with reference to
others who are facing with
more severe situation.
24. Leave the situation of God to
take care of.

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 SI. Statement Never Rarely Some­ Quite Almost
No. times Often Always
1 2 3 4 5
25. Try not to make the situation
worse by acting so soon, and
wait for the right time to do
something meaningful.
26. Try for immediate or sooner
relief through partial or
temporary solutions of the
problem.
27. Physical withdraw from the
situation temporarily.
28. Postpone taking any decision
or action towards solution of
the problem.
29. Put aside other activities in
order to concentrate on the
problem.
30. Give extra attention towards
planning and scheduling the
action, and deal with the
situation accordingly.
31. Deal with the situation
1 patiently with a belief in the
philosophy that "my right is to
make efforts, not to the fruit
thereof.”
32. Leave the situation to take its
own course with this belief that
passage of time itself is a
remedy to many problems.
J J. Request help from the persons
who have the authority /
resources to do something to
help.
34. Seek company of friends and
family leaving the situation
aside.
35. Try to adjust or deal with the
situation constrainedly.
36. Start worrying too much
without doing much to solve
the problem.
37. Take situation as a challenge
and work harder to deal with it.
38. Think about unreal things that
make me feel better or happy.

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SI. Statement Never Rarely Some­ Quite Almost
No. times Often Always
1 2 3 4 5
39. Try to release the emotional
distress by talking to someone.
40. Do not take the situation
seriously with the attitude that
“it is not everything.”
41. Adopt some short-cut or
socially disapproved methods
to get rid of the situation.
42. Try to get emotional support
from relations and friends in
adjusting with the situation.
43. Try to rationalize the situation,
and logically think why should
it be upsetting and frustrating?
44. Try to ignore or avoid the
situation to the maximum
possible extent.
45. Try for long-term or lasting
solutions to the problem even
by taking more strain/pain i
voluntarily.
46. Do not believe that situation
i has really taken place.
47. Take immediate action without
: thinking much about the
ultimate consequences.
48. Accept the reality and work on
changing / modifying the
behaviour or policies which
caused the situation of stress.
£9. Deal with the situation with
: positive affect keeping in mind
its positive outcomes. ____________:____________

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