Developing a coping strategies scale in iranian students:parallel forms
Subject Areas : روان درمانگریParirokh Dadsetan 1 , Ali Asgari 2 , Marzieh Hajizadegan 3
1 - PhD Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch
2 - PhD University of Welfare & Rehabilitation
3 - M. A. in Psychology
Keywords: factor analysis, Coping Strategies, parallel forms,
Abstract :
In order to develop an instrument for measuring coping strategies, a questionnaire was administered to 496 females, 649 males Iranian students selected by multi-stage sampling method. After conducting several explanatory factor analysis using oblique rotation (in two stages), 100 items were selected that had high item total correlation ( > 0.4) and factor loadings (> 0.35). These items distinguished 8 coping strategies : 1) Social support, 2) spiritual support (religious), 3) cognitive restructuring, 4) problem solving, 5) wishful thinkibg and worry, 6) distracting (Physically and emotionally), 7) cognitive avoidance), 8) submission, and accounted for 33% of the variance. Two forms of the questionnaire, each consisting of 50 items, were developed based on similarity in content and equal factor loading such that the correlation coefficients between the factors of the two forms were significant and the difference in their means was insignificant. Cronbach's alpha for the two forms were 0.910 and 0.913 and SE were 3.60 and 3.61 respectively. Factor analysis of the forms confirmed 8 factors. Psychometric indices were calculated for the factors and their theoretical bases are discussed.