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Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SRCS)

Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SRCS) Test

Understand how kids ages 7 to 11 cope with tough situations in just 5 minutes. Get a quick, clear snapshot of coping patterns to guide support, build resilience, and target needs fast.

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Questions: 225 minutes

Hi! My name is Freudly, i am an AI therapist, I will give you an interpretation of the test after you complete it.

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

15,897 views

895 completions

763 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

3/5

Externalization (E)

Measures how often a child copes with stress by expressing negative emotions outwardly, such as through anger, aggression, or blaming others.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 1: Low | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4 – 5: High

A score of 3 indicates a moderate tendency to use outward expression of negative emotions as a coping strategy in stressful situations.

example score

2/5

Internalization (I)

Measures how often a child uses inward-focused coping such as self-talk, self-reflection, and self-blame when stressed.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 1: Low | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4 – 5: High

A score of 2 indicates a moderate tendency to cope by internalizing, meaning the child sometimes turns stress inward through self-reflection or self-blame.

example score

3/5

Distancing (D)

Measures how often the child copes with stress by psychologically stepping back or disengaging from the situation.

Low distancing

Moderate distancing

High distancing

0 – 1: Low distancing | 2 – 3: Moderate distancing | 4 – 5: High distancing

A score of 3 indicates a moderate tendency to use distancing, suggesting the child sometimes steps back from stressful situations rather than engaging directly.

example score

1/5

Seeking Social Support (SSS)

Measures how often a child seeks help or comfort from other people when faced with stress or difficulty.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 1: Low | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4 – 5: High

A score of 1 falls in the Low range, suggesting the child rarely turns to others for support when stressed.

example score

3/5

Problem Solving (PS)

Measures how often a child uses active, solution-focused coping when facing stressful situations.

Low

Moderate

High

0 – 1: Low | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4 – 5: High

A score of 3 indicates a moderate tendency to use problem-solving strategies, suggesting the child sometimes tries to find and carry out solutions when stressed.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

School psychologists and counselors

41%OF USERS

They use it for quick screening to understand how a child handles stress and to plan targeted support at school.

Child therapists in clinics

34%OF USERS

They administer it during intake or early sessions to map coping patterns and guide treatment goals for emotional or behavioral concerns.

Teachers and support staff

25%OF USERS

They rely on it to spot common coping styles in a class or group and decide when to involve parents or specialists.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

RESULTS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE

Scale Results
— Explained Clearly

Your scores across each test scale are translated into plain, usable insights. You won’t just get numbers — you’ll learn how your results impact your daily life, emotional state, and overall well-being.

AI-Powered
Interpretation

You’ll receive a structured, clinically-grounded explanation. Our AI analyzes patterns and relationships between scales to provide a coherent interpretation, without exaggerated language.

Statistical
Comparison

See how your results compare to others. Anonymized platform data is used to create a percentile scale, which identifies whether your results are typical.

Practical
Recommendations

You’ll receive clear, actionable guidance tailored to your profile. These easy-to-implement suggestions focus on coping, self-regulation, and realistic next steps.

AI-Powered
Insights

Get insights on behavioral and thought patterns you might not notice on your own. By uncovering subtle connections between your responses, you’ll better understand what may be driving your current results.

Discuss with
an AI Therapist

Clarify, reflect, and explore your results right away. Talk through your experience, ask questions, and explore meanings in a calm, non-diagnostic dialogue.

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Used in 52+ countries

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Externalization (E)

Average

1.4

Normal range

0.7 — 2.1

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Internalization (I)

Average

2.6

Normal range

1.8 — 3.4

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Distancing (D)

Average

2.4

Normal range

1.6 — 3.2

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Seeking Social Support (SSS)

Average

2.9

Normal range

2.1 — 3.6

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Problem Solving (PS)

Average

1.9

Normal range

1 — 2.7

min.

max.

Majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this questionnaire measure?

It measures how often a child uses different coping strategies in challenging situations. It provides a brief profile across five coping categories.

Who is the questionnaire designed for?

It is designed for children ages 7 to 11. It can be used in individual or group settings.

How long does it take to complete and how many items are included?

It takes about 5 minutes to complete. It includes 22 items.

What types of coping strategies are included?

The items cover problem-solving, seeking social support, distancing, internalization, and externalization. Each item asks about the frequency of a specific response.

How should responses be interpreted and used?

Scores indicate which coping approaches are used more or less often relative to other approaches. Results are typically used to guide support planning and to monitor change over time.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SRCS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

coping behavior

This questionnaire is designed to quickly characterize how children manage challenging or stressful situations. The Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SRCS) is intended for use with school-age children and can be administered in individual or group settings.

It includes 22 items and typically takes about 5 minutes to complete. Items ask the child to indicate how often they use specific coping responses, supporting a structured profile across broad coping domains (e.g., problem-focused efforts, seeking social support, distancing/avoidance, internalizing responses, and externalizing responses).

Results from the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SRCS) can help clinicians and school-based providers identify coping patterns that may inform case conceptualization, intervention planning, and monitoring of coping skills over time. Interpretation should consider developmental level, context, and corroborating information from other sources.

Author: richard-s-lazarus, susan-folkman

Literature: Lerner, R. M. (Ed.). Handbook of child psychology and developmental science (7th ed.). Wiley. 2015.; Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Saltzman, H., Thomsen, A. H., & Wadsworth, M. E. Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychological Bulletin. 2001.; Kochenderfer-Ladd, V., & Skinner, K. Children’s coping strategies. Developmental Psychology. 2002.

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