| The first chapter is a systematic literature review that used five major social science databases to exam nine general coping instruments most commonly used in the coping literature. These nine coping instruments were reviewed in terms of their initial development, psychometric qualities, and overall strengths and weaknesses.; The second chapter provides results of three studies that (a) test the content validity of the Multi-Modal Coping Inventory (MMCI), a hypothesized 36-item, 6-factor coping instrument that measures general coping styles, through two rounds of four international expert reviewers; (b) test the internal convergent and discriminant construct validity of the MMCI through the use of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses; and (c) test the internal consistency and four-to-six-week stability of the new measure. Exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses only supported internal construct validity for a five-factor (Belief, Social, Imagination, Cognitive, and Physiology), 18-item model. Internal consistency ranged from moderately high (alpha = .86) to marginal for the Imagination dimension (alpha = .59). A four-to-six-week test-retest interval revealed evidence of adequate stability across all dimensions.; Chapter three presents results of a series of studies that (a) test external-reference construct validity of the MMCI through correlational analysis of the MMCI's dimensions and the constructs of well-being and depression; (b) test the criterion validity of the MMCI by correlating its dimensions with similar dimensions on the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989); and (c) test known group differences for age and sex on the MMCI dimensions. Results of the series of studies provide moderate evidence for the construct validity of the Belief and Physiology dimensions, and strong evidence for the construct validity of the Cognitive, Imagination, and Social dimensions of the MMCI. |
