Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI)

Abstract

The Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) is a 33-item psychological scale designed by James Amirkhan to measure the specific coping methods individuals employ when confronting stressful life events. The instrument utilizes a situational approach, requiring respondents to identify a personally significant problem encountered within the last six months and rate the extent to which they used various behaviors to manage it. The CSI is characterized by a robust, factor-analytically derived structure that organizes coping responses into three primary, orthogonal dimensions: Problem Solving, Seeking Social Support, and Avoidance. This structure allows for a nuanced assessment of an individual’s adaptational repertoire.

Keywords

Coping strategies, Stress management, Problem Solving, Social Support, Avoidance, Psychological assessment, Amirkhan, CSI, Stressors.

Authors

James Amirkhan

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CSI is to systematically classify and quantify the specific coping mechanisms individuals rely upon when faced with a personally significant stressor. By focusing on a recent, concrete problem, the scale aims to capture actual behavioral and cognitive responses rather than generalized, dispositional tendencies. This situational specificity enhances the ecological validity of the measurement.

The instrument provides scores across its three major subscales, enabling researchers and clinicians to assess the relative balance of adaptive (Problem Solving, Seeking Social Support) versus potentially maladaptive (Avoidance) strategies used by the respondent. It is a vital tool in research focusing on psychological adjustment, resilience, and the pathology associated with chronic or acute stress.

Construct

The CSI measures the overarching psychological construct of Coping, defined as the cognitive and behavioral efforts used to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person. Amirkhan’s model posits that coping responses can be fundamentally categorized into three orthogonal dimensions, derived through factor analysis:

• Problem Solving: Active, direct efforts aimed at altering the stressful situation itself or removing the source of the stress.
• Seeking Social Support: Reliance on others for emotional comfort, advice, information, or tangible assistance.
• Avoidance: Behavioral or cognitive attempts to evade the stressor or the distressing emotions associated with it, often through distraction or withdrawal.

Validity

The validity of the CSI has been extensively supported, particularly concerning its factor structure and its relationship with external criteria. Amirkhan (1994) demonstrated strong criterion validity, showing that scores on the three primary factors correlate logically with measures of psychological adjustment and maladjustment.

Specifically, the Problem Solving factor typically shows positive correlations with indicators of good mental health and successful resolution of the stressor, while the Avoidance factor is often negatively correlated with overall well-being and positively associated with distress and poor adjustment outcomes. The distinct predictive utility of each subscale confirms that the CSI effectively measures theoretically relevant coping domains.

Reliability

The CSI exhibits strong internal consistency, which is a key indicator of reliability. Initial studies by Amirkhan (1990) reported high coefficient alphas for the three factors, confirming that the items loading onto each subscale are highly correlated and measure the same underlying construct consistently.

The factor scores are generally stable across different administrations when the reference stressor remains constant, indicating that the instrument provides dependable measurement of the coping strategies employed in response to a specific event. The established reliability supports the use of the CSI in both clinical and research settings.

Factor Analysis

The scale’s structure is the result of rigorous factor analysis conducted during its development. Amirkhan (1990) utilized this statistical technique to distill a large initial pool of coping behaviors into the most parsimonious and empirically distinct set of factors.

The analysis yielded a clear, three-factor solution—Problem Solving, Seeking Social Support, and Avoidance—which accounted for a significant portion of the variance in coping responses. The orthogonal nature of these factors means that they represent independent coping approaches, allowing individuals to score highly on one factor without necessarily scoring highly or lowly on the others.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory

Format: 33 items rated on a 3-point Likert scale (1=not at all, 2=a little, 3=a lot)

Language Available: English (and numerous translations available in subsequent research)

Population Group: General population, clinical samples

Age Group: Adolescent to Adult

Population Details: Respondents must be capable of recalling and describing a specific, personally important stressful event that occurred within the recent past (typically the last six months).

Test Methodology: Situational assessment. Participants describe a specific stressor and then indicate the degree to which they used each of the 33 listed coping methods when dealing with that event.

Keywords

Coping strategies, Stress management, Problem Solving, Social Support, Avoidance, Psychological assessment, Amirkhan, CSI, Stressors.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) was first published in 1990. It is often used freely for non-commercial academic research, though researchers should consult the original publication or contact the author for formal permissions.

The instrument, along with preliminary scoring guidelines, can be found on pages 59-63 of the Compendium of Clinical Measures for Community Rehabilitation. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/qhcrwp/docs/clinical_measure.pdf.

Reference’s

• Amirkhan, J. 1990, “A Factor Analytically Derived Measure of Coping: The Coping Strategy Indicator”, Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, vol. 59, no. 5, pp. 1066-1074.

• Amirkhan, J. 1994, “Criterion validity of a coping measure”, Journal of Personality Assessment, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 242-61.

Items of the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI)

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

Listed below are several possible ways of coping. We would like you to indicate to what extent you, yourself, used each of these coping methods. All of your responses will remain anonymous.

Try to think of one problem you have encountered in the last six months or so. This should be a problem that was important to you, and that caused you to worry (anything from the loss of a loved one to a traffic fine, but one that was important to you).

Please describe this problem in a few words (remember, your answer will be kept anonymous): ____________________________________________________________

Did you remember to write down your problem? If not, please do so before going on.

Keeping that stressful event in mind, indicate to what extent you…… (Response options: a lot=3, a little=2, not at all=1)

1. Let your feelings out to a friend?
2. Rearranged things around you so that your problem had the best chance of being resolved?
3. Brainstormed all possible solutions before deciding what to do?
4. Tried to distract yourself from the problem?
5. Accepted sympathy and understanding from someone?
6. Did all you could to keep others from seeing how bad things really were?
7. Talked to people about the situation because talking about it helped you to feel better?
8. Set some goals for yourself to deal with the Situation?
9. Weighed your options very carefully?
10. Daydreamed about better times?
11. Tried different ways to solve the problem until you found one that worked?
12. Confided your fears and worries to a friend or relative?
13. Spent more time than usual alone?
14. Told people about the situation because just talking about it helped you to come up with solutions?
15. Thought about what needed to be done to straighten things out?
16. Turned your full attention to solving the problem?
17. Formed a plan of action in your mind?
18. Watched television more than usual?
19. Went to someone (friend or professional) in order to help you feel better?
20. Stood firm and fought for what you wanted in the situation
21. Avoided being with people in general?
22. Buried yourself in a hobby or sports activity to avoid the problem?
23. Went to a friend to help you feel better about the problem?
24. Went to a friend for advice on how to change the situation?
25. Accepted sympathy and understanding from friends who had the same problem?
26. Slept more than usual?
27. Fantasised about how things could have been different?
28. Identified with ch‎aracters in novels or movies?
29. Tried to solve the problem?
30. Wished that people would just leave you alone?
31. Accepted help from a friend or relative?
32. Sought reassurance from those who know you best?
33. Tried to carefully plan a course of action rather than acting on impulse?