ASSESSING INTERPERSONAL AND INTRAPERSONAL RESOURCES - SOCIAL SUPPORT AND COPING AMONG ADULTS WITH A DISABILITY

A promising model for addressing community reintegration and adjustmen t following disability is the stress-outcome model. In spite of demons trated applicability, this model has found little support among clinic ians and researchers in the rehabilitation field. One reason for this may be the lack of explicit conceptual and operational definitions for the central constructs of the model. This paper presents theoretical and measurement models for two such constructs which are considered bu ffers or mediators in the stress-outcome relationship: social support and coping. Issues associated with each construct are explored, with r eference particularly to people with disabilities. Following a synthes is of the literature, models for each construct were proposed that rep resented the two constructs as each having a parallel three-factor str ucture. Using a sample of 120 spinal cord-injured adults from across O ntario, data were collected on existing instruments which measure the two constructs of interest (Interpersonal Support Evaluation List, Way s of Coping Questionnaire). Face-to-face interviews were conducted in participants' homes at 1, 4, and 12 months post-discharge from rehabil itation, in order to capture the period of initial community readjustm ent and reintegration. Psychometric evaluation of the measurement mode ls included item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability assessment . These analyses provided empirical support for the three-factor struc ture for both constructs, as well as a second-order general factor for social support. Recommendations for revisions of the scales and furth er development of the measurement models were made, and the revised me asures were discussed in terms of theoretical and research implication s.