Measuring coping skills: Behavioral observations in nursery school

The objective of this study was to evaluate the Early Coping Inventory (ECI), as a tool for assessing coping skills in nursery school. In the middle of the school year, 30 low-risk children, two to three years of age, were observed individually for 5 hours in a variety of situations in nursery school. Impartial, trained observers rated the child's coping skills on the ECI and these were compared with the teachers' evaluations. The teachers rated the child using the Evaluation of Adaptive Behavior in Nursery School (Smilansky & Shefftaya, 1974). The findings point to significant associations between the teachers' and observers' ratings. The results support the validity of the ECI as an effective tool for evaluating the child's coping and adaptive skills. Thus it is suggested that the ECI may be valuable in early identification of children with special needs.