An adaptation of the KidCOPE: the KidCOPE-parent (KidCOPE-P) - a parent-report measure of child coping strategies

ObjectiveUnderstanding how children cope is an important factor in investigating the impact of adversity on child development. With children increasingly experiencing adverse situations - such as the COVID-19 pandemic - having methods of assessing coping strategies is an essential step in supporting self-regulation development. Parent report is a common method of measuring child outcomes, as parents observe children across a range of settings. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the KidCOPE-Parent form - an adaptation of the original KidCOPE self-report.MethodsA sample of 253 children, aged 6-7 years old, across 19 government and catholic schools in Melbourne, Victoria.ResultsFindings indicate that a two-factor model best fits the data, with the KidCOPE-P demonstrating moderately acceptable reliability and validity. There were some differences in mean scores reported between males and females for items relating to problem-solving, social support, and resignation coping strategies.ConclusionOverall, the KidCOPE-P is moderately suitable for assessing children's coping strategies, as observed by a parent. Future research is needed to replicate these findings and continue to explore the KidCOPE-P's reliability as a parent-report measure of child coping strategies. What is already known about this topic: Children are facing more frequent adverse situations which can impact the development of self-regulation and influence how children cope.Middle childhood (6-12 years old) is a period of rapid development and a potentially critical period for understanding how coping strategies develop.The adapted KidCOPE-Parent form was developed to be a brief parent report measure of children's coping strategies.What this study adds: Using a sample of 253 6-7 year olds, statistical analyses and an exploratory factor analysis were run to determine the reliability and factor structure of the KidCOPE-P.Two factors - labelled avoidant coping and active coping - were identified and the KidCOPE-P reported moderate reliability (a = .65).The KidCOPE-P may be a useful, brief parent-report measure with moderate reliability that assesses children's coping strategies.