Dimensional analysis of the coping strategy indicator in a sample of elderly veterans with acquired limb amputations

The Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI), developed by Amirkhan (1990), is intended as a widely applicable self-report measure of situational coping encompassing the strategies of avoidance, problem solving and seeking social support. Nonetheless, the instrument s initial development phase was exclusively premised on Californian samples, prompting Parker and Endler (1992) to highlight the need for cross-validation with other populations. The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Coping Strategy Indicator in a sample of 618 British individuals with a chronic health challenge, namely amputation of a limb(s). Confirmatory factor analyses were used to compare four different models of the CSI structure (one-factor, three-orthogonal factors, three-oblique factors and four-oblique factors). The results indicate that the oblique-three-factor model, coherent with the subscales derived in the original sample (Amirkhan, 1990) provided adequate fit to the data. An oblique four-factor model described by Ager and MacLachlan (1998) provided the best fit. Further research is necessary in terms of developing and scoring the instrument as a four-dimensional tool. These results provide further support for the suggestion that the scale is generalizable across population, cultural, and situational variation. 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 0191-8869/$ see front matter 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.04.015 * Corresponding author. Address: School of Psychology, Dublin Psychoprosthetics Group, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland. Tel.: +353 1 608 1453; fax: +353 1 671 2006. E-mail address: [email protected] (M. MacLachlan). 1 Dublin Psychoprosthetics Group, www.tcd.ie/psychoprosthetics. 250 D.M. Desmond et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 40 (2006) 249–259