Children’s Coping Questionnaire (CCQ)

Abstract

The Children’s Coping Questionnaire (CCQ) is a comprehensive psychological scale developed to assess the diverse range of coping strategies employed by children and young adolescents when encountering common stressors. Developed by Fedorowicz in 1995, this instrument goes beyond simple action checklists by incorporating a preliminary section focused on cognitive appraisal, allowing researchers to understand how a child perceives the problem (e.g., causality, controllability, emotional response) before detailing their behavioral and cognitive reactions. The CCQ consists of 81 core coping items designed to map onto 14 distinct coping factors, providing a nuanced perspective on stress management in pediatric populations.

Keywords

Children’s coping, stress management, cognitive appraisal, psychological assessment, pediatric psychology, coping mechanism, factor structure, self-report.

Authors

A. E. Fedorowicz, P. K. Keng

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Children’s Coping Questionnaire (CCQ) is to provide a detailed, empirically-derived measure of how children respond to salient life stressors. Unlike earlier scales that focused solely on broad coping dimensions, the CCQ aims to identify specific strategies—both adaptive and maladaptive—used by the child, allowing for a clearer understanding of individual differences in stress response.

The secondary, yet crucial, purpose is to link these coping behaviors to the child’s initial subjective interpretation, or cognitive appraisal, of the stressor. By assessing the perceived severity, emotional impact, and controllability of the problem, the CCQ facilitates research into the interaction between appraisal processes and subsequent coping strategies, which is essential for developing targeted clinical interventions.

Construct

The CCQ is rooted in transactional theories of stress and coping, which emphasize that coping is a dynamic process influenced by the individual’s interpretation of the situation. The instrument measures the multidimensional construct of coping strategies, defined as the conscious behavioral and cognitive efforts used to manage stressful demands.

The construct is divided into three major components: initial cognitive appraisal (e.g., perceived cause, control, and emotional outcome), 81 specific coping actions (organized into 14 subscales ranging from Direct Problem Solving to Aggressive Actions), and perceived coping efficacy (the child’s belief about how helpful their coping methods are). These factors collectively capture both approach-oriented (problem-focused) and avoidance-oriented (emotion-focused) responses, as well as forms of emotional venting.

Validity

The content validity of the CCQ is demonstrated through its comprehensive item pool, derived from research into children’s actual responses to stress. Construct validity is strongly supported by the subsequent factor analysis, which yielded 14 meaningful and theoretically consistent subscales. These factors align well with established coping literature, grouping items into coherent domains such as cognitive restructuring, support seeking, and aggressive actions. The distinction between these factors confirms that the scale successfully measures separate dimensions of the overall coping construct.

Reliability

The internal consistency reliability of the CCQ subscales, measured using Cronbach’s alpha, is generally strong across the 14 factors, indicating that items within each subscale reliably measure the same underlying construct. Specific alpha coefficients reported in the foundational research are as follows:

• Cognitive Decision Making: .75
• Direct Problem Solving: .81
• Positive Cognitive Restructuring: .73
• Self-Calming: .76
• Support Seeking: .84
• Wishful Thinking: .79
• Avoidant Actions: .61
• Cognitive Avoidance: .76
• Distracting Actions: .73
• NO Coping Effort: .56
• Withholding Feelings: .73
• Aggressive Actions: .85
• Expressing Feelings: .65
• Negative Cognitions/Worrying: .80

While most scales demonstrate good to excellent reliability (alphas typically above .70), the factors “Avoidant Actions,” “NO Coping Effort,” and “Expressing Feelings” show slightly lower, though still acceptable, consistency scores, suggesting potential areas for refinement in scale development.

Factor Analysis

The CCQ structure was established through factor analysis, which resulted in 14 distinct coping factors. These factors can be conceptually grouped into broader dimensions, such as Approach, Avoidance, and Venting strategies, but are primarily analyzed as separate subscales to maintain precision regarding specific coping behaviors.

The 14 factors identified are:

• Cognitive Decision Making: Reflective planning and problem analysis (Items 1, 26, 39, 66, 72, 75).
• Direct Problem Solving: Taking concrete steps to change the situation (Items 7, 20, 29, 33, 67, 71).
• Positive Cognitive Restructuring: Changing thoughts to view the situation more positively (Items 2, 8, 15, 27, 40).
• Self-Calming: Using internal mechanisms to regulate emotion (Items 21, 62, 68, 76, 80).
• Support Seeking: Reaching out to family, friends, or others for help (Items 3, 16, 32, 38, 41, 45, 65).
• Wishful Thinking: Hoping for an external resolution (Items 14, 28, 46, 49, 60).
• Avoidant Actions: Physically removing oneself from the stressor (Items 5, 18, 30, 43, 81).
• Cognitive Avoidance: Attempting to suppress thoughts about the stressor (Items 12, 24, 50, 52, 63).
• Distracting Actions: Engaging in activities to shift focus (Items 4, 11, 17, 23, 36, 44).
• NO Coping Effort: Passive inaction or resignation (Items 10, 37, 47, 57, 59, 77).
• Withholding Feelings: Hiding emotional reactions from others (Items 34, 53, 54, 70, 74, 79).
• Aggressive Actions: Outwardly hostile or disruptive behavior (Items 6, 19, 31, 58, 64, 69).
• Expressing Feelings: Releasing emotions through non-aggressive means (Items 9, 22, 35, 42, 48, 73).
• Negative Cognitions/Worrying: Focusing on negative outcomes or self-blame (Items 13, 25, 51, 55, 56, 61).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale and questionnaire.

Format: The instrument uses a combination of multiple-choice questions for cognitive appraisal and a 4-point Likert scale (Never, a little, pretty much, a lot) for the 81 coping items. The perceived coping efficacy section uses a 4-point effectiveness scale (helps a lot, helps a little, doesn’t help, makes it worse).

Language Available: English (Original development language).

Population Group: Children and early adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized for children in middle childhood through adolescence (approx. 8–14 years).

Population Details: The scale was developed and validated on a population of children in Canada, primarily focusing on general school-age populations.

Test Methodology: The child is first asked to identify their primary stressor (e.g., problems with school-work, peers, or family). They then complete the five Cognitive Appraisal questions specific to that stressor, followed by the 81 coping items detailing their usual response to that stressor. Finally, they assess the perceived efficacy of their overall coping efforts.

Keywords

Children’s coping questionnaire, CCQ, stressor specificity, emotional regulation, behavioral assessment, reliability, factor analysis, Simon Fraser University.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence should be directed through Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, where the foundational research took place.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and first published in 1995 as part of a Master’s thesis. Subsequent doctoral research was published in 1998. Specific commercial licensing or fee structure information is not provided here, but the foundational documents are academic theses freely available online. The original PDF documents for the instrument and related research can be downloaded here:

• http://summit.sfu.ca/system/files/iritems1/6875/b1774989x.pdf (PDF Link 1)
• http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ37701.pdf (PDF Link 2)

Reference’s

• Fedorowics‚ A. E. (1995). Children’s Coping Questionnaire (CCQ): Development and factor structure. Master of Art thesis‚ Simon Fraser University‚ Burnaby‚ British Columbia‚ Canada.
• Fedorowicz‚ A. E.‚ & Keng‚ P. K. (1998). Children’s Coping and Cognitive Appraisals: An Investigation of Stressor and Gender Specificity. Doctoral thesis‚ Simon Fraser University‚ Burnaby‚ British Columbia‚ Canada.

Items of the Children’s Coping Questionnaire (CCQ)

Cognitive Appraisal Questions

1. Ail kids have times when they are upset or bothered by things. What bothers you or makes you upset the most? (Pick one)
   • Problems with my school-work.
   • Problems getting dong with other kids.
   • Problem at home with people in my family.
2. How much does this problem bother you or make you feel upset? not at all‚ a little‚ pretty much‚ a lot
3. How do you feel when this problem happens? (Pick one) mad‚ sad‚ worried‚ happy
4. How much do you think you cause this problem to happen? not at all‚ a Little‚ pretty much‚ a lot
5. Can you do something to solve this problem when it happens? not at all‚ a Little‚ pretty much‚ a lot

Children’s Coping Questionnaire: WHEN THIS HAPPENS I…

1. Think about what I could do before I do anything.
2. Try to see the good side of things.
3. Talk about the problem with someone in my family.
4. Go ride my bike‚ skateboard or roller blades.
5. Try to stay away from the problem.
6. Get into a fight with someone.
7. Do something to make things better.
8. Tell myself it will all work out OK.
9. Let all my feelings out.
10. Just let it happen.
11. Listen to music or watch T.V.
12. Try to put it out of my mind.
13. Worry about all the bad things that could happen.
14. Wish really hard that it would end.
15. Tell myself it will be over in a short time.
16. Talk about my feelings with someone.
17. Play some games.
18. Try to stay away from things that upset me.
19. Do something bad or cause trouble.
20. Try to make things better by changing what I do.
21. Remind myself to relax.
22. Cry by myself.
23. Go somewhere and play.
24. Pretend the problem never happened.
25. Think about how bad things are.
26. Think about what would be the best thing to do.
27. Tell myself that things could be worse.
28. Pray that things will change.
29. Do something so that it will work out.
30. Avoid the people who make me feel bad.
31. Get mad or yell at someone.
32. Get help from a friend.
33. Do something to solve the problem.
34. Act like its no big deal.
35. Let out my feelings to my pet or stuffed animal.
36. Read a book or a magazine.
37. I just wait.
38. Get help from someone in my family.
39. Go over in my mind different things I could do.
40. Tell myself that things aren’t that bad.
41. Talk about the problem with one of my friends.
42. Yell to let off steam.
43. Avoid it by going to my room.
44. Play video games or a hobby.
45. Talk to someone who could help me.
46. Pray to make things better.
47. Just stand there.
48. Let off steam by hitting my pillow or bed.
49. Wish a miracle would happen.
50. Try not to think about it
51. Get scared that something bad might happen.
52. Try really hard to forget about it.
53. Don’t tell anyone how I am feeling.
54. Act as if I don’t care.
55. Just worry about how bad things are.
56. Think it might be my fault.
57. I don’t do anything.
58. Say mean things to people.
59. I can’t think of anything to do.
60. Wish with all my might that it would stop.
61. Feel bad about myself.
62. Tell myself to stay calm.
63. Refuse to think about it.
64. Pick on someone.
65. Ask someone what I should do.
66. Try to find out more about what the problem is.
67. Change something to make it better.
68. Count to ten.
69. Hit someone or hurt someone.
70. Act like it doesn’t bother me.
71. Do something to fix the problem.
72. Think about what I should do.
73. Yell to let my feelings out.
74. Keep all my feelings inside.
75. Try to come up with a plan before I do anything.
76. Take a deep breath.
77. I don’t know what to do.
78. Try to think only happy thoughts.
79. Don’t let anyone know that it bothers me.
80. Try to calm myself down.
81. Go off by myself.

Perceived Coping Efficacy Questions

1. Think about all the things you do when this problem happens. How much do they help? helps a lot‚ helps a little‚ doesn’t help‚ makes it worse
2. Think about the things you do to change the situation when this problem happens. How much do they help? helps a lot‚ helps a little‚ doesn’t help‚ makes it worse
3. Think about all the things you do change the way you feel when this problem happens. How much do they help? helps a lot‚ helps a little‚ doesn’t help‚ makes it worse