Chinese Ways of Coping Questionnaire (CWCQ)

Abstract

The Chinese Ways of Coping Questionnaire (CWCQ) is a psychometric instrument designed to measure the specific coping strategies utilized by individuals, particularly within the Chinese cultural context of Hong Kong. It consists of 16 items organized into four distinct factors: Rational Problem-Solving, Resigned Distancing, Seeking Support and Ventilation, and Passive Wishful Thinking. Developed by D. W. Chan, the CWCQ aims to provide a culturally sensitive assessment of how individuals respond to stressful situations, moving beyond strictly Western-centric models of coping.

Keywords

Coping, Chinese culture, Hong Kong, Stress, Psychological Assessment, Rational Problem-Solving, Distancing, Social Support, Wishful Thinking.

Authors

D. W. Chan, E. K. P. Hui (Co-author on related studies).

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the CWCQ is to assess the specific behavioral and cognitive responses—or coping strategies—adopted by Chinese individuals when facing distress or stressful events. It was originally developed to study stress, burnout, and psychological distress among secondary school teachers and students in Hong Kong.

The scale serves as a valuable tool for cross-cultural psychology research, allowing investigators to identify culture-specific coping mechanisms that might influence psychological outcomes, such as depressive symptoms or burnout.

Construct

The CWCQ measures the psychological construct of coping, defined here as the cognitive and behavioral efforts made to manage demands appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s resources. Importantly, the scale distinguishes between four specific dimensions of coping, moving beyond simple problem-focused or emotion-focused dichotomies, acknowledging the complexity of responses in a Chinese cultural setting.

These dimensions reflect culturally relevant ways of dealing with stress, including elements of fatalism (Resigned Distancing) and active seeking of social resources (Seeking Support and Ventilation), which are critical for comprehensive coping assessment.

Validity

The validity of the CWCQ has primarily been established through Factor Analysis, confirming the hypothesized four-factor structure in studies conducted by Chan (1994, 1995). Construct validity is supported by consistent findings showing significant correlations between specific coping subscales and measures of psychological distress, such as depressive symptoms and burnout, across various samples of Chinese adolescents and secondary school teachers in Hong Kong.

For instance, maladaptive strategies like Passive Wishful Thinking and Resigned Distancing are typically positively associated with distress, while Rational Problem-Solving is inversely related, confirming theoretical expectations regarding coping effectiveness in managing psychological outcomes.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability has been consistently demonstrated across the four subscales, typically measured using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Studies involving student and teacher populations in Hong Kong have generally reported acceptable to good reliability scores for the subscales, indicating that the items within each factor measure the underlying construct cohesively and reliably across different applications of the coping strategies assessment.

Factor Analysis

The CWCQ is structured around four empirically derived factors, confirmed through principal components analysis with rotation (Chan, 1994). These factors categorize the 16 items into distinct coping profiles, providing a nuanced understanding of how individuals manage stress. The four factors and their corresponding item groupings are:

• Rational Problem-Solving: Items focusing on active planning, preparation, and self-improvement (Items 1, 5, 9, 13).
• Resigned Distancing: Items related to avoidance, denial, fatalistic beliefs, and putting problems aside (Items 2, 6, 10, 14).
• Seeking Support and Ventilation: Items involving expressing feelings, talking to others, and seeking advice or information from others (Items 3, 7, 11, 15).
• Passive Wishful Thinking: Items centered on fantasy, daydreaming, wishing, and hoping for external change without personal action (Items 4, 8, 12, 16).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychological Assessment

Format: 16 items, responded to on a 4-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English, Chinese (Original validation in Hong Kong context).

Population Group: Chinese populations (specifically Hong Kong Chinese).

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (Secondary school students and secondary school teachers).

Population Details: Primarily validated among educational professionals and students in Hong Kong settings during the 1990s.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the frequency or extent to which they used each coping method when faced with a specific stressful event. The scoring uses a scale from 0 (“Does not apply or not used”) to 3 (“Used a great deal”).

Keywords

CWCQ, Coping mechanisms, Hong Kong education, Burnout, Psychological distress, Factor Analysis, Cross-cultural psychology, Likert scale.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A (Based on publication location: Hong Kong, Department of Educational Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The instrument was first published and validated in 1994. For current usage and permissions, researchers should contact the primary author, D. W. Chan. The full scale and scoring details are extensively documented in academic sourcebooks, including Measures for Clinical Practice and Research (Fischer & Corcoran, 2007, Vol. 1, pp. 491-493).

Reference’s

• Chan, D. W. (1994). The Chinese Ways of Coping Questionnaire: Assessing coping in secondary school teachers and students in Hong Kong. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 108-116.
• Chan, D. W. (1995). Depressive symptoms and coping strategies among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24(3), 267–279.
• Chan, D. W., & Hui, E. K. P. (1995). Burnout and coping among Chinese secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 15-25.
• Chan, D. W. (1998). Stress, coping strategies, and psychological distress among secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. American Educational Research Journal, 35(1), 145-163.
• Chan, D. W. (1998). Chinese Ways of Coping Questionnaire (CWCQ). In Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page (s): 491-493.

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Items of the Chinese Ways of Coping Questionnaire (CWCQ)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Rational Problem-Solving, Resigned Distancing, Seeking Support and Ventilation, and Passive Wishful Thinking

0= Does not apply or not used, 1=Used somewhat, 2=Used quite a lot, 3=Used a great deal

Rational Problem-Solving (1, 5, 9, and 13), Resigned Distancing (2, 6, 10 and 14), Seeking Support and Ventilation (3, 7, 11, and 15), and Passive Wishful Thinking (4, 8, 12, and 16)

1. I thought about what I would say or do.
2. I acted as if nothing had happened
3. I talked to someone about my feelings.
4. I fantasized that things would turn out in some specific ways.
5. I made preparations to face the worst
6. I believed in fate, knowing that sometimes I Just had bad luck.
7. I talked to people to understand more about the situation.
8. I daydreamed or fantasized myself in a better time or place.
9. I knew what needed to be done, so I worked extra hard to make things work
10. I tried to forget the whole incident.
11. I expressed my feelings in one way or another.
12. I wished that things would pass or end in some specific ways.
13. I made myself change or grow as an individual.
14. I put aside the problems for the time being by taking a rest or going on a vacation.
15. I sought advice from relative or friends I respected.
16. I wished I could ch‎arge what actually happened or my own feelings.