Coping and Involuntary Responses to Stress in Chinese University Students: Psychometric Properties of the Responses to Stress Questionnaire

Abstract

Our objective in this study was to develop a Chinese version of the Responses to Stress Questionnaire (RSQ; Connor-Smith, Compas, Wadsworth, Thomsen, and Saltzman, 2000) and to evaluate its reliability and validity. The Chinese (C) RSQ (RSQ–C) exhibited moderate internal consistency and moderate test–retest reliability. Results of the confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the fit of a 3-factor model of voluntary coping and a separate 2-factor model of involuntary responses to stress were acceptable for the Chinese university sample. With regard to predictive validity, the Primary and Secondary Control Engagement Coping factors were associated with lower levels of depressive and anxious symptoms, whereas the Disengagement, Involuntary Engagement, and Involuntary Disengagement Coping factors were associated with higher levels of such symptoms.

Acknowledgments

The research we report in this article was partially supported by a Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation (CPRF) Award and a McGill University Sabbatic Leave Research Grant awarded to J. R. Z. Abela, partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30670709) awarded to S. Yao, and partially supported by National Key Technologies R&D program in the 10th 5-year-plan Grant 2007BAI17B05 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China.

Notes

¹In mainland China, there are more than 50 ethnic minority groups that account for less than 5% to 10% of the population. In this study, we did not assess for each of the ethnic groups. Rather, we determined whether a given individual was Han as opposed to an ethnic minority.

^a n = 1,126.

^b n = 548.

^c n = 578.

*p < .01.

^a n = 1,126.

^b n = 90.

*p < .001.

* p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.