Measurement and Validation of Accommodative Coping in Primary School: A Survey Instrument

Accommodative processes, which focus on flexible goal adjustment and nonintentional goal devaluation processes, have been extensively studied in adulthood. Empirical research, however, is primarily based on questionnaire data. With regard to accommodative coping skills in younger ages, only few studies have investigated adolescent samples and no studies have examined children's skills. In Study 1, comprising 38 7- to 8-year-old children (experimental group = 19, control group = 19), a new instrument was developed to assess disengagement and upgrading processes in a playful and age-appropriate way. In an experimental condition, previously induced goals were blocked. The children of this group differed significantly in goal devaluation scores and in the appreciation of alternative goals from the control group. In Study 2, accommodative coping was assessed by the piloted survey instrument in 85 7-to 8-year-old children and validated through the parents' report on their children's accommodative coping skills. Both survey instruments appear appropriate for measuring accommodative processes at primary school age.