Proactive coping and preventive coping: Evidence for two distinct constructs?

• Proactive coping and preventive coping are both uni-dimensional constructs.
• In younger samples, proactive and preventive coping are distinct from each other.
• Correlations with other variables are inconsistent in older, more educated samples.
• More research is required with the revised coping scales.

Proactive coping and preventive coping are commonly researched forms of future-oriented coping. There is however, contention in the literature regarding their underlying factor structures: some studies report they are separate constructs, while others have combined them together with other constructs. Given the growing literature using these forms of future-oriented coping, it is important to clarify the underlying structures of these measures. To inform these discussions, the factor structures of both proactive and preventive coping were empirically assessed with three independent samples. Sample 1 (N = 181) investigated the underlying structures using exploratory factor analysis, with the resulting factors then examined in Sample 2 (N = 282) and Sample 3 (N = 345) using confirmatory factor analyses. The results supported the differentiation between proactive and preventive coping, revealing two distinct factors, however correlations with personality and psychological strain were inconsistent between the samples. These results contribute to recent discussions by demonstrating proactive and preventive coping are both uni-dimensional constructs as measured by the Proactive Coping Inventory, yet the conceptual distinctions may not be supported empirically in older and more educated samples. Future research is required to enhance our understanding of the theoretical distinction between the two coping scales in heterogeneous samples.