Multidimensional assessment of coping: A critical evaluation.

TLDR

Existing self‑report coping measures are reviewed, revealing widespread psychometric weaknesses. The authors developed the Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI), a self‑report instrument with task‑, emotion‑, and avoidance‑oriented scales, and evaluated its construct and criterion validity in two studies comparing it to established coping and personality measures. Results demonstrate that the MCI is a reliable, multidimensional measure of coping styles with strong construct and criterion validity.

Abstract

Several existing self-report measures of coping and the relevant research using these instruments are reviewed. Many of these coping measures suffer from a variety of psychometric weaknesses. A self-report instrument, the Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI), was constructed that identifies 3 types of coping styles: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping. Support for the multidimensional nature of the MCI is presented, along with support for the reliability of the MCI coping scales. Two studies are presented that assessed the validity of the MCI. The 1st study assessed the construct validity of the MCI by comparing it with the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. The 2nd study also assessed the criterion validity of the MCI by comparing it with measures of depression, anxiety, Type A behaviour, neuroticism, and extraversion. Overall, the results suggest that the MCI is a valid and highly reliable multidimensional measure of coping styles.