Assessment of coping styles and strategies with school-related stress

A review of the relevant literature indicates a lack of measurement techniques for coping styles and strategies with school-related stress. This study presents the procedure of constructing The Coping with School-related Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ), which makes it possible to investigate dispositional as well as situational aspects of coping. Theoretical assumptions are based on the interactive model of coping with stress, which distinguishes styles and strategies of coping with school-related stress. CSSQ consists of 2 forms: Form A is designed to examine coping styles; Form B is designed to examine strategies of coping with school-related stress. On the basis of several factorial analyses three scales of the CSSQ have been distinguished: task, emotion and avoidance coping. The score is assessed for each scale separately. The psychometric coefficients of CSSQ are satisfactory. CSSQ is designed for adolescents, aged 15-16. Further research concerning its diagnostic qualities among different age groups needs to be conducted.