There's more than rugged individualism in coping. Part 2: Construct validity and further model testing

Abstract

We examined the multiaxial model of coping using the dispositional or general version of the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS) and the situational version of the SACS, in Part 2 of this two-part series. We found both dispositional and situational measures to be reliable and that dispositional coping was a strong predictor of situational coping 12 weeks later. Dispositional coping was a better prospective predictor of emotional outcomes, and situational coping was a better predictor of current emotional outcomes. Women were found to be more prosocial and less antisocial in their coping than men, but no less active. Prosocial coping tended to be related to better emotional outcomes for both men and women. Aggressive coping was also an effective strategy as long as it did not move into the outright antisocial forms of coping. The multiaxial model of coping appears to balance individualistic and collectivist notions of coping in a way that successfully predicts coping outcomes under stressful conditions and that does not disfavor women as do many individualistically-oriented measures of coping that ignore copings' pro- and antisocial aspects.