Confirmatory factor analysis of the Cybernetic coping scale

The Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ; Folkman & Lazarus, 1985 ) remains one of the widely used measures of self‐report coping behaviours, despite an acknowledgement of its relatively poor psychometric properties. In contrast, the Cybernetic coping scale (CCS; Edwards & Baglioni, 1993 ) appears to have improved psychometric characteristics, but is scarcely employed within published research. To examine the factor structure and criterion validity of the CCS, a longitudinal study was conducted using a diverse sample of New Zealand employees from a range of organizations. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the CCS was found to have construct validity over time. However, a 14‐item CCS model produced the best goodness‐of‐fit and improved item properties. The implications of this improved CCS are discussed in terms of longitudinal research designs, and the necessity for the inclusion of robust self‐report coping measures.