Development and validation of a Coping with Discrimination Scale: factor structure, reliability, and validity

J Couns Psychol. 2010 Jul;57(3):328-44. doi: 10.1037/a0019969.

Abstract

Four studies were conducted to develop and validate the Coping With Discrimination Scale (CDS). In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (N = 328) identified 5 factors: Education/Advocacy, Internalization, Drug and Alcohol Use, Resistance, and Detachment, with internal consistency reliability estimates ranging from .72 to .90. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis (N = 328) provided cross-validation of the 5-factor model as well as evidence for validity of the scale. The validity evidence was similar across racial groups and for males and females. In Study 3, the estimated 2-week test-retest reliabilities (N = 53) were between .48 and .85 for the 5 factors. Education/Advocacy, Internalization, Drug and Alcohol Use, and Detachment were positively associated with active coping, self-blame, substance use, and behavioral disengagement, respectively, providing further support for validity of the CDS. Finally, incremental validity evidence was obtained in Study 4 (N = 220), where it was shown that the CDS explained variance in outcome variables (i.e., depression, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and ethnic identity) that could not be explained by general coping strategies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Acculturation
  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcoholism / diagnosis
  • Alcoholism / psychology
  • Defense Mechanisms
  • Ethnicity / psychology*
  • Female
  • Guilt
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Minority Groups / psychology*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Prejudice*
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
  • Reference Values
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self Concept
  • Social Identification
  • Students / psychology
  • Substance-Related Disorders / diagnosis
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
  • United States
  • Young Adult