A dichotomous structure does not capture the coping behavior of emerging adults

Objective: College students in particular face many stressors but underutilize support and have few effective stress-reduction services, therefore a better understanding of how they cope is needed. Research has often characterized coping behavior in a binary and dichotomous way; however, this structure was based on ease-of-use for researchers, not behavior patterns of emerging adults. For the present study, exploratory factor analysis was applied to a coping measure tailored for emerging adults.Participants: 372 college students participated in the study. Methods: Students completed the measure five days in a row, considering how they coped with the most stressful event they experienced that day. Results: Analyses indicated that a three-factor structure of direct, indirect, and social support coping types were a good explanation of the data. Conclusion: More nuanced coping measurements and conceptualizations would improve the external validity of coping studies and may facilitate the development of more effective stress-reduction interventions.