A Chinese Relational Coping Inventory: Initial Evidence and Implications

We report the development of a situation-specific Chinese Relational Coping (CRC) inventory to assess perceived coping effectiveness in a collectivistic Chinese cultural context. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using 3 samples of Chinese college students ( N = 1,807) suggested the viability and stability of a 4-factor model: Understanding Oneself in Context, Involving Relevant Others in Context, Considering Others in Context, and Detaching and Gaining Perspective. The 17-item CRC evidenced strong psychometric properties, and the coping strategies represented in the items were frequently used and perceived as helpful in resolving life problems. In addition, concurrent, construct, and incremental validity estimates suggest the CRC: (a) was positively related to commonly used coping inventories, but also conceptually distinct, (b) was associated with indices of psychological adjustment, and (c) uniquely predicted additional variance in coping outcomes beyond commonly used coping inventories. The results suggest a need to broaden coping theories to include relational-coping reflecting important cultural values that surround individuals and their relationships.