Revisiting the changing and stable properties of coping utilization using latent class growth analysis: A longitudinal investigation with soccer referees

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal factor invariance of problem-focused, disengagement-focused, and seeking social support coping to provide an unbiased estimation of the mean-level and differential stability of coping with longitudinal confirmatory factor analyses with mean structure. This study also examined different patterns of longitudinal coping utilization with Latent Class Growth Modeling (LCGM). Method: Soccer referees (N = 227), aged from 15 to 53 years, completed a French version of the Ways of Coping Checklist at three times over an entire season. Results: The structure of the coping dimensions could be assumed longitudinally invariant. The mean-level utilization of problem-focused coping did not change significantly over the season despite the presence of test-retest instability. Both disengagement and seeking support coping utilization have significantly decreased over time while displaying moderate test-retest stability. Results of LCGM revealed that, while most referees did not change their utilization of problem-focused coping, two subgroups have respectively increased and decreased their use of problem-focused coping. Two subgroups decreased significantly their use of both disengagement-oriented and seeking support coping whereas one subgroup maintained the same level of utilization. Conclusions: Results indicated that coping utilization displayed both trait-like and state-like properties, differing for distinct subgroups of referees. This research provided further evidence for the need of moving beyond the sole reliance on traditional analyses of change to recast the trait-like versus state-like debate on coping into a more idiosyncratic-nomothetic framework. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.