Brief Scope

Abstract

The Brief COPE is a widely utilized, 28-item self-report measure of coping strategies, developed by Charles S. Carver in 1997. It serves as a streamlined alternative to the original 60-item COPE Inventory. Designed for efficiency in high-stress or time-constrained research environments, the scale assesses the specific cognitive and behavioral responses individuals employ when managing psychological stressors. The instrument is structured around 14 distinct, two-item subscales, allowing researchers to quickly quantify both adaptive (approach) and maladaptive (avoidance) coping mechanisms, providing a crucial tool for clinical assessment and intervention planning.

Keywords

Brief COPE, Coping strategies, Stress management, Psychological assessment, Self-report measure, Charles S. Carver, Behavioral disengagement, Emotion-focused coping, Problem-focused coping.

Authors

Charles S. Carver, Michael F. Scheier, Jagdish K. Weintraub.

Purpose

The principal purpose of the Brief COPE is to rapidly and accurately quantify the specific coping responses employed by an individual when confronted with a defined stressor. The design, which limits each dimension to only two items, significantly minimizes respondent burden, making the measure ideal for large-scale screening, repeated-measures designs, and longitudinal studies where efficiency is paramount.

The scale provides empirical differentiation between various coping styles. This includes active problem-solving efforts (e.g., Active Coping, Planning) versus strategies focused on emotional regulation or avoidance (e.g., Denial, Substance Use, Venting). This detailed understanding of coping patterns is vital for designing targeted psychological interventions and accurately predicting long-term psychological adjustment following chronic stress or traumatic events.

Construct

The Brief COPE measures the core psychological construct of coping. This is dynamically defined as the cognitive and behavioral attempts made by an individual to manage demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding their available resources. The instrument operationalizes this construct through 14 distinct dimensions, which collectively represent the full spectrum of approach (engagement) and avoidance (disengagement) coping styles.

These 14 subscales capture the multidimensional nature of the stress response, ranging from highly adaptive, proactive strategies (e.g., Positive Reframing, Acceptance) to potentially dysfunctional or maladaptive behaviors (e.g., Behavioral Disengagement, Self-Blame). The structure allows researchers to rigorously analyze how the complex interplay of these strategies influences overall psychological health and outcomes.

Validity

The validity of the Brief COPE has been rigorously established across numerous cross-cultural studies and diverse clinical populations. Strong construct validity is consistently supported by findings that demonstrate logical correlations between the measured coping subscales and other related psychological constructs. For example, higher scores on Active Coping typically correlate positively with measures of optimism, while maladaptive strategies like Denial or Self-Blame correlate positively with increased symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Furthermore, criterion validity is evidenced by the scale’s demonstrated ability to predict meaningful objective outcomes. These predictive utilities include adherence to therapeutic interventions, compliance with complex medical regimes, and overall quality of life following significant adverse life events. The Brief COPE successfully replicates the conceptual structure and predictive power of the original, longer COPE scale, confirming its status as a robust and valid proxy measure.

Reliability

The reliability of the Brief COPE is primarily assessed using internal consistency measures, specifically Cronbach’s alpha, for its 14 two-item subscales. While the inherent brevity of two-item scales generally limits the potential for extremely high internal consistency scores, the majority of the subscales demonstrate acceptable to good reliability coefficients in published academic literature, particularly when the instrument is used to measure responses to specific, acute stressors.

Additionally, the instrument exhibits satisfactory test-retest reliability, indicating stability in an individual’s measured coping preferences over short time intervals. It is important for users to note that the reliability outcomes can fluctuate depending on the administration instructions—whether participants are asked to report on a specific, recent event (state coping) or their typical response style (trait coping).

Factor Analysis

Although the Brief COPE is scored based on 14 discrete, two-item subscales, advanced statistical techniques, such as confirmatory factor analysis, frequently support a more parsimonious, higher-order structure. The most widely replicated factor solutions group the 14 original subscales into three or four superordinate factors that represent broad, overarching coping styles:

• Problem-Focused Coping: Strategies explicitly designed to manage or alter the source of the stressor (e.g., Active Coping, Planning, seeking Instrumental Support).
• Emotion-Focused Coping: Strategies aimed at regulating the emotional response elicited by the stressor (e.g., Emotional Support, Positive Reframing, Acceptance, Religion).
• Dysfunctional/Avoidant Coping: Maladaptive strategies that often result in increased psychological distress or avoidance of the problem (e.g., Denial, Substance Use, Behavioral Disengagement, Self-Blame).

The 14 individual factors measured by the instrument, along with their corresponding item numbers, are:

1. Self-Distraction (items 1 and 19)
2. Active Coping (items 2 and 7)
3. Use of Emotional Support (items 5 and 15)
4. Use of Instrumental Support (items 10 and 23)
5. Venting (items 9 and 21)
6. Positive Reframing (items 12 and 17)
7. Planning (items 14 and 25)
8. Humor (items 18 and 28)
9. Acceptance (items 20 and 24)
10. Religion (items 22 and 27)
11. Denial (items 3 and 8)
12. Substance Use (items 4 and 11)
13. Behavioral Disengagement (items 6 and 16)
14. Self-blame (items 13 and 26)

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological test / Coping Inventory

Format: 28 items, utilizing a 4-point Likert scale response format.

Language Available: English (Original), with numerous validated translations available globally.

Population Group: General population, Clinical samples, and individuals experiencing significant health or social stressors.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically aged 16 years and older).

Population Details: The scale’s versatility allows for effective use across diverse research contexts, including studies focusing on the relationship between perceived stress, anxiety, and coping ability among specific groups like college students.

Test Methodology: Respondents are instructed to rate the frequency or degree to which they utilized each specific coping behavior in response to an identified stressor. The rating scale is as follows: 1 = I haven’t been doing this at all; 2 = I’ve been doing this a little bit; 3 = I’ve been doing this a medium amount; 4 = I’ve been doing this a lot.

Keywords

Active coping, Avoidance coping, Psychological distress, Trait coping, State coping, Denial, Venting, 14 subscales.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source.

Correspondence Address: Information regarding the work and contact details for Charles S. Carver can be located via his official faculty page at the University of Miami (http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/ccarver/).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Brief COPE was formally introduced in 1997. It is widely accessible and frequently utilized without charge for non-commercial academic research purposes. Users are generally required to provide proper citation to the primary 1997 publication by Carver when incorporating the instrument into their research protocols.

Reference’s

Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1), 92-100.

Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.

Levine, R. P. (2007). Differences in Perceived Stress, Affect, Anxiety, and Coping Ability Among College Students in Physical Education Courses. University of Maryland, College Park. PhD Dissertation. The original PDF dissertation can be downloaded here: http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/6811/1/umi-umd-4299.pdf

Items of the Brief Scope

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I’ve been turning to work or other activities to take my mind off things.

2. I’ve been concentrating my efforts on doing something about the situation I’m in.

3. I’ve been saying to myself “this isn’t real.”

4. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to make myself feel better.

5. I’ve been getting emotional support from others.

6. I’ve been giving up trying to deal with it.

7. I’ve been taking action to try to make the situation better.

8. I’ve been refusing to believe that it has happened.

9. I’ve been saying things to let my unpleasant feelings escape.

10. I’ve been getting help and advice from other people.

11. I’ve been using alcohol or other drugs to help me get through it.

12. I’ve been trying to see it in a different light‚ to make it seem more positive.

13. I’ve been criticizing myself.

14. I’ve been trying to come up with a strategy about what to do.

15. I’ve been getting comfort and understanding from someone.

16. I’ve been giving up the attempt to cope.

17. I’ve been looking for something good in what is happening.

18. I’ve been making jokes about it.

19. I’ve been doing something to think about it less‚ such as going to movies‚ watching TV‚ reading‚ daydreaming‚ sleeping‚ or shopping.

20. I’ve been accepting the reality of the fact that it has happened.

21. I’ve been expressing my negative feelings.

22. I’ve been trying to find comfort in my religion or spiritual beliefs.

23. I’ve been trying to get advice or help from other people about what to do.

24. I’ve been learning to live with it.

25. I’ve been thinking hard about what steps to take.

26. I’ve been blaming myself for things that happened.

27. I’ve been praying or meditating.

28. I’ve been making fun of the situation.

Response Scale: 1 = I haven’t been doing this at all; 2 = I’ve been doing this a little bit; 3 = I’ve been doing this a medium amount; 4 = I’ve been doing this a lot