Development and Validation of the Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale: Acculturative Stressors as an Example

The objective of this study is to develop and validate the Chinese Making Sense of Adversity Scale (CMSAS) to measure the cognitive coping strategies that Chinese people adopt to make sense of adversity. Method: A 12-item CMSAS was developed by in-depth interview and item analysis. The scale was validated with a sample of 627 Chinese international students in Australia and Mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong. Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: making positive sense and making negative sense of adversity. The CMSAS exhibited high internal consistency reliability and good concurrent validity. Conclusion: The CMSAS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the coping strategies used by Chinese people to make sense of adversity. However, further validation of the scale is needed.