Development and Analyses of the Coping Stress Inventory.

This is a report on the development of a coping stress inventory and the analyses of the data collected from 344 participants. The Coping Stress Inventory, CSI, with 16 items intercorrelated in the categories (Behavioral, Emotional, and Cognitive Appraisal). The internal consistency for the CSI was .77. Responses to the CSI were compared (a) between 79 participants who rated a stressful experience that was of medium meaningfulness and importance and 265 participants who rated a stressful experience of very meaningfulness and importance and (b) between men and women. Results showed that the group who rated a stressful experience that was very meaningful and important used more strategies to deal with stress, such as, taking pain killers, crying, needing advice and moral support, and praying. When confronted with stressful situations, women tended to go to sleep, took pain killers, felt they needed moral support, wanted to take out on others, and prayed; whereas, men tended to get angry and hit others, and drank alcohol. Further analyses of the CSI responses were recommended.  In a review of literature on coping stress two areas of interest were noted: (a) the strategies people used to cope with stressful situations and (b) how coping stress inventories were developed. Weiten and Lloyd (2003) defined coping stress as "efforts individuals make to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stressful situations" (p. 95). Over the years, researchers have attempted to identify and classify techniques and strategies people used in dealing with stress (Craver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; McCrae, 1984). Weiten and Lloyd (2003) cited two types of researchers who studied coping strategies. One type of researchers tended to examine coping strategies that were of relatively little value, for instance, studies done by: Seligmen (1974; 1992) on helplessness; Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mower, and Sears (1939) on aggression; Moors and Billings (1982) on alternative rewards; Cohen and Lichenstein (1990) on consumption of alcohol and drugs; and Ellis (1987) on blaming oneself. The other type of researchers, mentioned by Weiten and Lloyd, studied individuals who were engaged in more 'constructive' healthy coping stress patterns. Researchers mentioned in this group were: Mahoney (1979) and Chang and Kelly (1993) on problem-solving; Ellis (1995) on rational thinking; Willis and Fegan (2001) on seeking help; Lakein (1996) on using time effectively; Mayer and Salovey (1997) on distracting oneself; Carrington (1993) on meditation; and Benson (1975) on relaxation. A review of literature also showed that other researchers reported participants' responses to specific stressors, for instance: Greene and Wing (1994) on eating disorders; Carver, et al. (1993) on breast cancer victims; and Folkman and Lazarus (1985) on college students taking examinations. On developing coping stress inventories, researchers tended to use an empirical or theoretical model approach (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; Heszen-Niejodek, 1997). In the empirical approach, a large number of specific, diverse, and representative samples of potential coping responses to items were selected, and then, a statistic used to determine whether the items showed important underlying dimensions. Carver, et al. (1989) indicated that, in this approach, studies still showed the items were loosely linked to theoretical principles. In the other approach to developing coping stress inventories, researchers used theoretical model guidelines. A review of literature showed a number of theoretical models. However, the Lazarus' model influenced many researchers in developing their coping stress inventories (Carver, et al. 1989). The Lazarus' model was based on how people perceived stressful situations. In 1983, Lazarus and Folkman described three processes people experience in stressful situations: (a) primary appraisal (a process of perceiving a threat); (b) secondary appraisal (a process of bringing to mind a potential response); and (c) coping (the process of execution the response). …

Field of study: Education