Exploring the Underlying Dimensions of Coping: A Concept Mapping Approach

Abstract

This study evaluated the comprehensiveness of current coping assessment and theory by examining people's perceptions of coping. Specifically, this study explored what people report using as coping strategies and attempted to reveal the underlying structure of people's perceptions of coping by using concept mapping methodology. Undergraduate students completed a two-phase study involving thought-listing, sorting, and labeling tasks. A two-dimensional map with nine clusters embedded in these dimensions was found to adequately conceptualize the results with participant-generated items. The two dimensions conveyed were approach-avoidance and emotional equilibrium-disequilibrium. The implications for these results are discussed.