The dialectical behavior therapy ways of coping checklist: development and psychometric properties

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Therapy

Background:

• Skills training is fundamental to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
• A validated psychometric measure for assessing DBT skills utilization was previously lacking.
• Existing coping measures did not adequately capture DBT-specific skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the DBT Ways of Coping Checklist (DBT-WCCL).
• To create a reliable and valid instrument for measuring DBT skills use.
• To differentiate between DBT skills and dysfunctional coping strategies.

Main Methods:

• Adaptation of the Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (RWCCL).
• Factor analysis to identify subscales: DBT Skills Subscale (DSS) and Dysfunctional Coping Subscale (DCS).
• Psychometric analyses including reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) and validity (content, discriminant).

Main Results:

• The DBT-WCCL demonstrated good to excellent psychometric properties.
• Factor analysis yielded two distinct subscales: DSS and DCS.
• The DSS effectively discriminated between patients who received DBT skills training and those who did not.

Conclusions:

• The DBT-WCCL is a psychometrically sound and promising new measure for assessing DBT skills use.
• The scale can differentiate between adaptive (DBT skills) and maladaptive coping.
• This measure can aid in evaluating the impact of DBT skills training.