Assessing inter- and intrapersonal resources: social support and coping among adults with a disability

A promising model for addressing community reintegration and adjustment following disability is the stress-outcome model. In spite of demonstrated applicability, this model has found little support among clinicians and researchers in the rehabilitation field. One reason for this may be the lack of explicit conceptual and operational definitions for the central constructs of the model. This paper presents theoretical and measurement models for two such constructs which are considered buffers or mediators in the stress-outcome relationship: social support and coping. Issues associated with each construct are explored, with reference particularly to people with disabilities. Following a synthesis of the literature, models for each construct were proposed that represented the two constructs as each having a parallel three-factor structure. Using a sample of 120 spinal cord-injured adults from across Ontario, data were collected on existing instruments which measure the two constructs of interest (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, Ways of Coping Questionnaire). Face-to-face interviews were conducted in participants' homes at 1, 4, and 12 months post-discharge from rehabilitation, in order to capture the period of initial community readjustment and reintegration. Psychometric evaluation of the measurement models included item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability assessment. These analyses provided empirical support for the three-factor structure for both constructs, as well as a second-order general factor for social support. Recommendations for revisions of the scales and further development of the measurement models were made, and the revised measures were discussed in terms of theoretical and research implications.