Table 1.

Computation of the coping strategy index: an illustration

Coping strategies
		Never	Seldom (1-3 days/month)	Sometimes (1-2 days/week)	Often (3-6 days a week)	Daily
	Relative frequency score (A)	0	0.5	1.5	4.5	7.0	Severity weight (B)	Score (AxB)
E1	Skip entire days without eating?	1	2	3	4	5	8.0	0
E2	Limit portion size at mealtimes?	1	2	3	4	5	2.0	9
E3	Reduce number of meals eaten per day?	1	2	3	4	5	2.0	1
E4	Borrow food or rely on help from friends or relatives?	1	2	3	4	5	4.0	0
E5	Rely on less expensive or less preferred foods?	1	2	3	4	5	2.0	1
E6	Purchase/borrow food on credit?	1	2	3	4	5	4.0	6
E7	Gather unusual types or amounts of wild food/hunt?	1	2	3	4	5	8.0	0
E8	Harvest immature crops (e.g. green maize)?	1	2	3	4	5	8.0	0
E9	Send household members to eat elsewhere?	1	2	3	4	5	4.0	0
E10	Send household members to beg?	1	2	3	4	5	8.0	0
E11	Reduce adult consumption so children can eat?	1	2	3	4	5	6.	0
E12	Rely on casual labour for food?	1	2	3	4	5	2.0	0
	TOTAL HOUSEHOLD SCORE	$={\displaystyle \sum _{k=0}^n\mathrm{A}\times \mathrm{B}=17.0}$

Table legend: Table shows the relative frequency score, the severity weight, the individual score and the total household score of a randomly selected household. The total household score (∑A×B); or the summation of the products of each raw score/relative frequency score and the severity weight for each strategy) is defined as the CSI for that particular household and is 17.0.