Africultural Coping Systems Inventory: Psychometrics in a Clinical Sample of African American Women

Abstract

The Africultural Coping Systems Inventory (ACSI) assesses African Americans’ culturally relevant stress coping strategies. Although its factor structure, reliability, and validity of the scores have been examined across ethnic groups of African descent persons, psychometric properties have not been investigated in an African American clinical sample. Thus, it is unclear if the ACSI is useful for research with African Americans with distress. To assess the ACSI’s psychometrics, we used data from 193 low-income African American women who in the past year encountered interpersonal trauma and attempted suicide. We tested four models: one-factor, four-factor, four-factor hierarchical, and bifactor. None of the models were optimal, suggesting possible revisions to ACSI items. Yet the bifactor model provided a better fit than other models with items loading onto a general factor and onto specific factors. Internal consistency of the scores was above the recommended criterion (i.e., .70), and the ACSI general factor was related to depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation (but not alcohol abuse), providing some support for its concurrent validity. Future directions, limitations, and clinical-counseling implications are discussed.

Relationships Between Strong Black Woman Belief, Coping Behaviors, Perceived Social Support, and Psychological Distress Symptoms for Black Mothers After Stillbirth

“…We purposely chose a coping scale with a strong theoretical underpinning based on research into culturally preferred coping practices for Black individuals, but the scale has rarely been used in studies of Black adults who experienced trauma. However, in a recent study of Black women who had experienced recent trauma, Watson‐Singleton et al 43 found the instrument psychometrics were different than in the initial validation study. This psychometric difference suggests the ACSI may perform differently for women who experience trauma compared with other groups of Black adults.…”

“…Ritual‐Centered Coping (3 items, scores 0‐9) includes performing rituals (eg, “Lit a candle for strength or guidance in dealing with the problem”). The ACSI has been used with African American women of all ages, including trauma victims 43 and college students 19,44 . Cronbach's α have been .60 to .90 45,46 …”

Culturally Relevant Africultural Coping Moderates the Association Between Discrimination and Antiretroviral Adherence Among Sexual Minority Black Americans Living with HIV

“…Several studies have found that proactive coping (e.g., active problem solving) helps to mitigate the harmful effects of discrimination on health outcomes among Black Americans [ 12 , 14 ]. African-centered forms of coping, such as participation in prayer and meditation, seeking support from family and friends, and connecting with culturally sanctioned social groups and community resources, are commonly used by Black Americans to cope with stress [ 15 – 17 ], including those living with HIV [ 25 , 43 ]. However, this study may be the first to examine whether Africultural coping methods mitigate the harmful effect of discrimination on ART adherence, thereby acting as a moderator of the association between discrimination and adherence.…”

“…Little research has examined the effects of culture-specific coping strategies commonly used by Black Americans to manage chronic stress from exposure to discrimination. African-centered coping strategies commonly used by Black Americans include spiritual practices and rituals (e.g., prayer, meditation, incense burning), support seeking from family and friends, and accessing culturally sanctioned social groups and community resources [ 15 – 17 ], which reflect West African coping principles such as spirituality, collectivism, and communalism [ 18 , 19 ]. Findings have been mixed regarding whether the use of these strategies relate to levels of reported stress [ 20 ], and whether their use may serve as a buffer against the negative effects of discrimination on health outcomes [ 21 , 22 ].…”