REVISITING THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE WAYS OF COPING CHECKLIST - A 3-DIMENSIONAL VIEW OF THE PROBLEM-FOCUSED COPING SCALE - A STUDY AMONG NORWEGIAN PHYSICIANS

The factor structure of the Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL) developed by Folkman and Lazarus was re-examined and the emerging factors relate d to eight different measures of health and stress in a large represen tative sample of Norwegian physicians (N = 1030). The 42-item Vitalian o revision of the WCCL was applied, and a six-factor solution of the p rincipal component analysis was chosen as the most appropriate one. Th e traditional comprehensive Problem-focused coping factor was split in to three new ones: a narrower, more instrumental Action-oriented facto r, an Accommodation factor and a Positive thinking factor. Vitaliano's Seek support and Self-blame scales were reproduced, while the Wishful thinking and Avoidance scales collapsed to one Defense factor. The he alth related validity of the new solution was examined in two parallel series of regression analyses. Our new WCCL-dimensions were included as hypothetical predictors of health and stress in one series, and the Vitaliano factors in another. Whereas the comprehensive Problem-focus ed coping dimension predicted the health and stress measures significa ntly in six of the equations, the new Action-oriented coping factor wa s not included in any of them. Accommodation and Positive thinking see m to account for most of the variance covered by the comprehensive Pro blem-focused coping scale. It is argued that Accommodation and Positiv e thinking are more productive ways of coping when the source of stres s is not likely to be eliminated or substantially weakened by individu al action. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.