Testing the psychometric properties of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) in Turkish university students and community samples.

Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) has been extensively used to assess coping styles in the clinical or non-clinical context. The present study investigates the psychometric properties of WCQ in Turkish culture and attempts to get its shorter version by using three separate and independent samples (two groups of university students and one community sample). The constructive study was conducted with a sample of full-time university students (N = 472) and it indicated that the most relevant factor structure was seven-factor model. The factors were planful problem-solving, seeking refuge in supernatural forces, keep to self, seeking social support, seeking refuge in fate, escape/avoidance and accepting responsibility. After that, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the adequacy of these factors with two different samples. Study 1 was conducted with a sample of university students (N = 485) and Study 2 was conducted with a sample of community (N = 416). Results demonstrated that seven-factor solution revealed better results in both samples in terms of goodness of fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis. The results of reliability and validity analysis revealed that psychometric properties of WCQ were acceptable. In addition to getting shorter version of WCQ, the present study enhances cross-cultural information that increases awareness about the coping styles in a non-western culture.