Measuring Latino Adolescents' Coping With Ethnic-Racial Discrimination

Few studies have examined coping strategies specific to ethnic-racial discrimination among Latino youth. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Discrimination Coping Strategies Scale (DCSS) including its factor structure, validity, and longitudinal measurement invariance. Data came from four waves of a longitudinal study of 323 Latino adolescents (Wave 1 M-age = 15.31 years, SD = .76; 49.5% female). Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis suggested a factor structure that included a three-item latent factor and two manifest variables. Analyses suggested that the factor structure for the latent construct was invariant across four waves of repeated measures. Support for construct validity emerged with tests of convergent, divergent, and predictive validity. Taken together, findings provide support for the validity of the proactive coping subscale of the DCSS as a measure of Latino adolescents' proactive coping with ethnic-racial discrimination.