Development and validation of the Online Media for Avoidance Coping Scale

Across two studies, we aimed to develop and validate an Online Media for Avoidance Coping Scale that measures the tendency to use online media as an avoidance coping strategy against stress. In Study 1, the preliminary item pool ( N = 51) was reviewed by an expert review panel. Then, 579 participants completed the initial scale as well as measures of disengagement coping, mental health, internet addiction, emotion regulation, need for cognition and social desirability. A 2-factor solution ( general and social contexts) was supported by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. In Study 2, a fresh sample of 313 participants completed the final 8-item scale alongside other scales from Study 1. The fit for the two-factor model was comparable to Study 1 results. Tests of between-gender invariance revealed evidence for configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the two-factor structure between males and females. In both studies, the final scale demonstrated convergent validity by medium to large correlations with established scales on disengagement coping, mental health, emotion regulation and internet addiction. Divergent validity was demonstrated by a small correlation with need for cognition. The 8-item scale is useful for examining the tendency to use online media for avoidance coping in mental health settings.