Purpose

The Coping Strategies Assessment Scale (CSAS) was developed with the aim of studying the strategies individuals use to deal with various problems, difficulties, and stressful situations. One of the main advantages of the CSAS is its flexibility, as it can be administered to diverse populations who are facing a variety of challenges, with minor adjustments if necessary. The scale offers researchers a structured framework to record the coping strategies employed by individuals, thereby providing valuable insights into their emotional and psychological functioning.

Brief Description

This is a self-report tool consisting of 54 statements. Participants are asked to indicate the extent to which they use specific strategies when facing stressful or demanding situations. Through their responses, six main coping strategies are assessed: focusing, social support, acceptance, change, control, and withdrawal. Each strategy includes 18 specific tactics, 9 of which are considered positive (i.e., strengthening or beneficial to the individual), and the other 9 negative (i.e., weakening or maladaptive). The coping strategies assessed involve information seeking, emotional expression, cognitive control, detachment, and withdrawal. Strategies such as acceptance, change, and withdrawal are interconnected and may overlap depending on the individual’s coping style. The theoretical basis of the scale lies in the psychodynamic framework of emotional functioning, drawing from the work of Tap and colleagues (1993), and is considered statistically valid. The scale enables the analysis and categorization of the ways individuals respond to and manage stress.

Sample

The CSAS was initially tested on a Greek sample of 290 students from the Technological Educational Institute (TEI) of Patras and subsequently on a broader sample of 990 university students from various cities across Greece. It has also been administered to 160 professional nurses working in different regions, to 106 children with learning difficulties, and to 283 professional social workers. Statistical results revealed the following average scores across strategy categories: lucky strategies 54.17, information seeking 55.19, emotional expression 50.15, positive strategies 89.62, negative strategies 69.88, focusing strategy 29.88, social support 28.63, acceptance 21.38, transformation 27.06, control 28.93, and withdrawal 24.76.

Reliability

The scale demonstrates high internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.92, indicating strong measurement reliability and consistency across items.

Validity

The CSAS has shown good construct validity, supported by correlations with other variables and factor analysis. These findings affirm the conceptual soundness and theoretical integrity of the scale.

Key References

Theodoratou-Bekou, M. (2003). Psychological Maturity and Coping Strategies. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, University of Athens.
Sordes-Ader, F., Fisian, H., Esparbès, S., & Tap, P. (1995). Coping Strategies and Social Desirability. Apprentissage et Développement, IV (15/16), 165–173. Institut Piaget, Lisbon.
Tap, P., Esparbès, S., & Sordes, F. (1993). Presentation of the Echelle Toulousaine de Coping. Coping Strategies. Journées du Labo St. Crig, 89–107.