The responses to stress questionnaire: construct validity and prediction of depressive and social anxiety symptoms in a sample of Chinese adolescents

The objective of the current study was to develop a Chinese version of the Responses to Stress Questionnaire (RSQ‐C) and to evaluate its reliability and validity. The original version of the RSQ was back‐translated into Chinese and administered to a sample of students recruited from two middle schools in Hunan, China. The final sample consisted of 1068 adolescents (49.9% males and 50.1% females). Participants' ages ranged from 14 to 20 (M = 16.47 years, standard deviation = 1.02). The RSQ‐C exhibited moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha was 0.87), and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients was 0.82 over a 1‐month interval). Results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the fit of a three‐factor model of voluntary coping and a separate two‐factor model of involuntary coping. With regard to predictive validity, the results of multiple regression analyses suggest that the high levels of Disengagement Coping and low levels of Primary Control Engagement Coping were significant predictors of depressive symptomology. Additionally, high levels of Involuntary Engagement and low levels of Primary Control Engagement Coping predicted higher levels of social anxiety symptoms. Copyright ? 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.