The present study explored the component structure of coping in preschoolers as measured by the Children's Coping Scale — Revised (CCS-R) through principal component analysis (PCA). The study also examined the relationship between different coping patterns and mental health (as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ) in preschoolers. One hundred and thirty-two parents of preschoolers enrolled at a university-affiliated Early Learning Centre in Melbourne, Australia completed the CCS-R and the SDQ as part of a larger project. The PCAs found that a three-component structure of coping in preschoolers best fit the data for all general and situation-specific forms of the CCS-R. The majority of the forms, for both mothers and fathers, resulted in the components of: (1) Positive Coping, (2) Negative Coping — Emotional Inhibition, and (3) Negative Coping — Emotional Expression. The Situation Specific Coping forms resulted in the most reliable components, and the items that loaded on each component were the most consistent with previous research, underscoring a need to focus on situation-specific, as opposed to general, coping in preschoolers. Results for the relationship between the CCS-R and the SDQ found associations between positive coping and positive mental health, and negative coping was associated with some aspects of poor mental health. The patterns of associations provide evidence of construct validity for the component structure of the CCS-R and also highlight opportunities for intervention for this age group. Understanding the processes involved in managing and adapting to stress provides the opportunity to develop prevention and intervention approaches targeted at healthy adaption. Coping in preschoolers, and the degree to which preschoolers’ coping is associated with mental health, is largely under-studied in comparison to other life stages. The present study contributes to this small body of research in an effort to help inform teaching and therapeutic approaches for preschoolers.

中文翻译：

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学龄前儿童家长报告的应对、压力和心理健康之间的关系

本研究通过主成分分析 (PCA) 探讨了由儿童应对量表 - 修订版 (CCS-R) 衡量的学龄前儿童应对的成分结构。该研究还检查了学龄前儿童不同的应对方式与心理健康（通过优势和困难问卷；SDQ 衡量）之间的关系。132 名在澳大利亚墨尔本大学附属早教中心注册的学龄前儿童家长完成了 CCS-R 和 SDQ，作为一个更大项目的一部分。PCA 发现，学龄前儿童应对的三部分结构最适合 CCS-R 的所有一般和特定情况形式的数据。母亲和父亲的大多数形式导致以下组成部分：（1）积极应对，（2）消极应对 - 情绪抑制，(3) 消极应对——情绪表达。情境特定应对形式产生了最可靠的组件，每个组件上加载的项目与之前的研究最一致，强调需要关注特定情境的应对，而不是一般的学龄前儿童应对。CCS-R 和 SDQ 之间关系的结果发现积极应对与积极心理健康之间存在关联，而消极应对与心理健康状况不佳的某些方面有关。关联模式为 CCS-R 的组成结构提供了结构有效性的证据，也突出了对该年龄组进行干预的机会。了解管理和适应压力的过程为制定针对健康适应的预防和干预方法提供了机会。与其他生命阶段相比，学龄前儿童的应对以及学龄前儿童的应对与心理健康相关的程度在很大程度上没有得到充分研究。本研究为这一小型研究做出了贡献，以帮助为学龄前儿童的教学和治疗方法提供信息。