Confirmatory factor analysis of the Cybernetic coping scale

The Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985) remains one of the widely used measures of self-report coping behaviours, despite an acknowledgement of its relatively poor psychometric properties. In contrast, the Cybernetic coping scale (CCS; Edwards & Baglioni, 1993) appears to have improved psychometric characteristics, but is scarcely employed within published research. To examine the factor structure and criterion validity of the CCS, a longitudinal study was conducted using a diverse sample of New Zealand employees from a range of organizations. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the CCS was found to have construct validity over time. However a 14-item CCS model produced the best goodness-of-fit and improved item properties. The implications of this improved CCS are discussed in terms of longitudinal research designs, and the necessity for the inclusion of robust self-report coping measures.