Psychometric properties of a short form for the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-SF)

The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) is a widely used measure of coping that was developed to assess three basic coping styles: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping. The present study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties (internal reliabilities and temporal stability) of a short form for the CISS (CISS-SF) in a large longitudinal sample of community-based adults who completed the coping measure on 3 separate occasions approximately 1 year apart. The 3-factor model composed of 21 coping items provided acceptable fit to the sample data. The model was invariant across gender and age groups. Internal reliabilities for the scales were acceptable across multiple administrations (by gender and age groups), while 1 and 2-year test-retest correlations were also moderate and consistent with what would be expected for stable coping style constructs. Preliminary validity of the CISS-SF was explored with respect to self-report measures of big five personality and depression and anxiety symptoms. The relationships between coping, big five personality, and mental-health outcomes were found to be consistent with previous research on coping. Overall, the results suggest that the CISS-SF is a valid and reliable brief multi-dimensional measure of coping styles.