Coping Self-Efficacy Scale - Scoring

The Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES) is a 26-item measure of perceived self-efficacy for coping with challenges and threats.  The scale items were developed by several of the authors (Margaret Chesney, Susan Folkman, and Jonelle Taylor) by creating sample items based upon stress and coping theory and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, with consultation from Dr. Albert Bandura of Stanford University.  Items were refined based on pilot testing for face validity both with staff at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, and with a sample of HIV-infected participants. Respondents are asked, “When things aren’t going well for you, or when you’re having problems, how confident or certain are you that you can do the following:”   

They are then asked to rate on an 11-point scale the extent to which they believe they could perform behaviors important to adaptive coping.  Anchor points on the scale are 0 (‘cannot do at all’), 5 (‘moderately certain can do’) and 10 (‘certain can do’). An overall CSES score is created by summing the item ratings (α = .95; scale mean = 137.4, SD = 45.6).  Our standard scoring rule with summated rating scale scores is that respondents must answer at least 80% of the scale items.  For respondents missing an item or items, we estimate an individual’s score for the missing item(s) by adding in their mean for the items that they answered for each item that they skipped, resulting in a “corrected sum.”

For Information and access to the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale, contact Mind Garden at the following direct link: https://www.mindgarden.com/488-coping-self-efficacy-scale 

Please contact Margaret Chesney, PhD for more information.