Stress-Inducing Factors and Coping Scale for Children (SICoS–C)

Abstract

The main goal of this study was to establish the psychometric characteristics of the Stress-Inducing Factors and Coping Scale for Children (SICoS–C). This work also identified stress-inducing situations and coping mechanisms within educational settings, as reported by professionals working with children aged 3–10 years. The study surveyed 215 professionals, including Preschool Teachers and Psychologists who completed the SICoS–C, a new scale composed by items related to stress-inducing situations and coping strategies. An Exploratory Factorial Analysis revealed that the SICoS–C encompasses three distinct dimensions/factors. Subsequent Confirmatory Factorial Analysis suggested a good adjustment for a two-dimensional model, which includes “Events” and “Fears”, as well as a separate one-dimensional dimension construct labelled "Directed Activities". Internal consistency revealed adequate values and demonstrated evidence of divergent and convergent validity. This exploratory study uncovers a scale with promising psychometric attributes that uniquely combines the identification of stress-inducing situations with coping strategies within a single instrument. This study should be replicated as a starting point for other cross-cultural studies. The implications of this exploratory study point to the usefulness of this instrument in the planning of educational practices and in contexts of psychological evaluation, but studies with larger samples are needed.