Conflict Anxiety Response Scale (CARS)

Abstract

The Conflict Anxiety Response Scale (CARS; Coleman & Chan, 2023) was developed to assess the critical role of conflict anxiety on people’s responses to conflicts in their personal lives. Based on Deutsch’s framework (1993), item sets were drafted for each of the twelve hypothesized tendencies (e.g., avoid, escalate, rigid) included in the six bipolar dimensions (e.g., rigid-loose). The authors revised their scale across seven studies. Psychometric evaluation of the data was conducted using a sample of adults in the U. S. recruited via Mturk, Qualtrics, and Prolific online platforms. The authors recommended a 22-item brief scale created by selecting one to two items with the highest coefficients from the final model. Confirmatory factor analyses, test reliability and validity were analyzed and reported.

Keywords

Conflict Tendencies, Conflict Management, Anxiety, Anxiety Management, Conflict Resolution, Responses, Behavioral Measures, State Trait Level Measures

Authors

Coleman, Peter T.; Chan, Anthea

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Purpose

The CARS was designed to measure responses to conflict anxiety. The CARS also provides an individualized feedback report for increasing self-awareness of one’s conflict-response tendencies.

Validity

Predictive Validity: The predictive validity of the measures provided some general but qualified support for Deutsch’s original hypothesis that the more extreme the response to conflict anxiety along each dimension, the more problematic it is for the respondents’ emotions, well-being, and relationships.

Reliability

Internal Consistency: The final reliabilities of each of the subscales ranged from 0.67 to 0.895.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory Factor Analysis: On the first data set, EFA with principal axis factoring and promax rotation on every possible combination of the 12 factors, resulting in 66 EFAs. As a result of an aggressive approach to trimming the scales, some subscales became too small (fewer than three items).

Confirmatory Factor Analysis: In Model 3, the specified correlations were removed. Removing these correlations from the model improved model fit (RMSEA = 0.060, CFI = 0.83, TLI = 0.82). However, AIC and BIC, which can be used to compare models, were lowest in the final model, indicating that the model without correlated latent factors and with the two items trimmed was better.

Instrument: Conflict Anxiety Response Scale (CARS)

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: Items are rated on 5-point Likert scales.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs); Thirties (30-39 yrs); Middle Age (40-64 yrs); Aged (65 yrs & older)

Population Details:

• Location: United States

• Respondents: Adults (Aged 18 to 80 Years)

Test Methodology: Test Validity; Predictive Validity; Test Reliability; Internal Consistency; Factor Analysis; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Exploratory Factor Analysis

Keywords

Conflict Tendencies; Conflict Management

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier:

• Chan, Anthea: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2667-2927

Affiliation:

• Coleman, Peter T.: Columbia University, Teachers College

• Chan, Anthea: Coqual

Email Addresses:

• Coleman, Peter T.: [email protected]

Correspondence Address:

• Coleman, Peter T.: Columbia University, Teachers College, Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution, New York, New York, United States, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

Commercial: No

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

References

Coleman, P. T., & Chan, A. (2023). Conflict + anxiety = turmoil! Introducing a measure of conflict response derailers. Negotiation Journal, 39(2), 137–173. https://doi.org/10.1111/nejo.12427

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Items of the Conflict Anxiety Response Scale (CARS)

Number of items: This is a 22-item measure.

Subscales: Avoid; Involve; Soft; Hard; Emotional; Intellectualize; Escalate; Minimize; Conceal; Reveal; Rigid; Loose.

Test Items Available: No data is Available