Construction of a Christian secondary control scale: Vicarious and interpretive control as religious coping

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure Christians’ perceived control. A review of the literature identified secondary perceived control, including vicarious and interpretive control, as strategies adopted by Christians to cope with life situations. A newly developed six-item Christian Secondary Control Scale (CSCS) comprised of two three-item subscales was introduced. The results of the factor analysis revealed that the CSCS is a one-factor rather than a two-factor scale. In the validation study, while unique subjective wellbeing variance was explained by the CSCS, none was accounted for by the generic secondary control scale. Thus, the predictive usefulness of this new scale is supported. The theoretical and practical significance of this new scale is also discussed.