Coping Questionnaire

Abstract

The Coping Questionnaire (CQ) is a standardized psychological scale designed to measure the various coping strategies utilized by family members who are affected by a relative’s problematic use of alcohol, drugs, or gambling. Developed by Orford and colleagues, the 30-item instrument assesses how family members react to and manage the stress and strain associated with the relative’s addictive behavior. The CQ organizes coping responses into three primary dimensions: Engaged Coping, Tolerant Inactive Coping, and Withdrawal Coping, providing a comprehensive assessment of family adjustment and response patterns.

Keywords

Coping Questionnaire, family coping, addiction, substance use disorder, psychological assessment, Orford, stress, strain, behavioral problems, family systems.

Authors

Jim Orford, Lorna Templeton, Richard Velleman, Anthony Copello

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Coping Questionnaire is to provide researchers and clinicians with a reliable and standardized method for quantifying the specific behavioral and emotional strategies that individuals employ when coping with the challenges posed by a close relative’s addiction. This instrument helps in understanding the diversity of family responses, ranging from active confrontation and support to avoidance and passive acceptance. By measuring these responses systematically, the CQ facilitates research into the effectiveness of different family support interventions and contributes to the broader study of coping mechanisms within challenging interpersonal contexts.

The scale is instrumental in assessing the degree of family involvement, the level of tolerance for the problematic behavior, and the extent to which the affected individual attempts to emotionally or physically distance themselves from the relative with the substance use or gambling problem. The data gathered is essential for developing tailored support programs for affected family members.

Construct

The Coping Questionnaire measures the psychological construct of Coping Strategies specific to family members dealing with a relative’s substance or behavioral addiction. Coping is generally defined as the cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage internal and external demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person. Within the CQ, coping is operationalized across three distinct, theoretically derived factors:

• Engaged Coping (CQ-E): This dimension reflects active, problem-focused attempts to manage the relative’s behavior or the associated consequences. These strategies include setting limits, discussing the problem frankly, seeking financial solutions, or actively trying to prevent the substance misuse.
• Tolerant Inactive Coping (CQ-T): This dimension captures passive or tolerant responses, often characterized by resignation, emotional withdrawal, or making excuses for the relative’s behavior. It includes behaviors like feeling hopeless, covering up for the relative, or accepting the situation as unchangeable.
• Withdrawal Coping (CQ-W): This dimension represents strategies aimed at self-protection through emotional or physical distancing from the relative or the problem. This includes pursuing personal interests, avoiding the relative, or acting as if the problem does not exist, often reflecting an effort to preserve personal well-being within a strained family system.

Validity

The Coping Questionnaire has demonstrated strong empirical validity, particularly construct validity, through its development process. The scale items were derived from extensive qualitative research with family members affected by substance use problems, ensuring strong face and content validity. The three-factor structure (Engaged, Tolerant Inactive, and Withdrawal Coping) has been consistently supported across various samples, confirming that the scale effectively measures the distinct coping dimensions it was designed to capture.

Furthermore, the CQ has shown good criterion validity by correlating significantly with measures of psychological distress, strain, and support received. For instance, high scores on the Tolerant Inactive and Withdrawal Coping subscales are typically associated with increased stress and negative outcomes for the family member, while Engaged Coping often correlates with more positive, albeit challenging, attempts at problem resolution.

Reliability

The reliability of the Coping Questionnaire has been established primarily through measures of internal consistency. Studies, particularly those detailed in Orford et al. (2005), report acceptable to good Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the total scale and its subscales. The Engaged Coping subscale (CQ-E) and the Tolerant Inactive Coping subscale (CQ-T) typically exhibit stronger internal consistency (alphas often ranging from 0.70 to 0.85) than the Withdrawal Coping subscale (CQ-W).

These reliability scores indicate that the items within each subscale are measuring a consistent underlying construct. The instrument’s stability (test-retest reliability) has also been examined, showing that coping patterns, while potentially mutable over long periods, remain reasonably stable when measured over shorter intervals, making the CQ a reliable tool for capturing current coping status.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Coping Questionnaire was confirmed through rigorous exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The analyses consistently supported a three-factor model, accounting for a significant portion of the variance in coping responses observed among affected family members. The 30 items are distributed across the three subscales as follows:

• Engaged Coping (CQ-E): Items 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 25, 26, and 28.
• Tolerant Inactive Coping (CQ-T): Items 3, 4, 10, 14, 20, 23, 24, 27, and 30.
• Withdrawal Coping (CQ-W): Items 2, 8, 12, 15, 18, and 29. Note that for CQ-W scoring, scores for items 5 and 22 are subtracted, and then 6 is added to ensure positive values. Item 5 contributes positively to the CQ-E and the total score (CQ-TOT) but negatively to CQ-W.

This distinct three-factor structure provides a nuanced understanding of coping, moving beyond simple active/passive dichotomies to reflect the complex interplay of behavioral engagement, emotional tolerance, and self-protective withdrawal observed in alcohol use disorder family contexts.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Standardized psychological inventory

Format: 30 items rated on a 4-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (as developed in the UK), though it has been translated and validated in several other languages for cross-cultural research.

Population Group: Family members (spouses, partners, parents, siblings, adult children) of individuals with problematic alcohol, drug, or gambling behaviors.

Age Group: Adults (typically 18 years and older) who are in close relationship with the affected individual.

Population Details: The scale is specifically targeted toward individuals experiencing stress and strain due to a relative’s addiction, regardless of whether the relative is currently in treatment.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate how frequently they have engaged in the described coping behavior over a specified period (e.g., the past 12 months), using the following scale: 0=NO, 1=ONCE OR TWICE, 2=SOMETIMES, 3=OFTEN.

Keywords

Coping strategies, family burden, substance abuse, gambling disorder, psychological instrument, family dynamics, assessment tool, Orford, CQ.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not uniformly provided in original source documentation; researchers should consult current academic databases for individual ORCIDs.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided; correspondence should be directed to the affiliated institution.

Correspondence Address: Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling and Addiction Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Birmingham, UK (Affiliation at time of publication).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Coping Questionnaire was first developed and refined around 2001, with its primary psychometric validation published in 2005. The instrument is copyrighted by the Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling and Addiction Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Birmingham. It is generally available for non-commercial academic research use, often without charge, but users must seek permission from the copyright holders prior to implementation. The original instrument document can be accessed here: http://nceta.flinders.edu.au/files/3013/0948/1376/assessment%20tools%20stress%20strain%20support.doc (Note: This is a direct link to a DOC file containing the assessment tools).

Reference’s

The primary references supporting the development and validation of the Coping Questionnaire are:

• Orford, J., Templeton, L., Velleman, R. & Copello, A. (2005). Family Members of Relatives with Alcohol, Drug and Gambling Problems: A set of standardized questionnaires for assessing stress, coping and strain. Addiction, 100 (11), 1611-1624.
• Orford, J., Templeton, L., Velleman, R., & Copello, A. (2010). Methods of assessment for affected family members. Drugs: education, prevention and policy, 17(S1). doi: 10.3109/09687637.2010.514783
• Orford, J. (2014). Testing the short questionnaire for family members affected by addiction: help required. Available at: http://www.afinetwork.info/research-articles/371-testing-the-short-questionnaire-for-family-members-affected-by-addiction-help-required

Items of the Coping Questionnaire

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

The 30 items of the Coping Questionnaire are listed below. Respondents rate the frequency of these behaviors on a 4-point scale (0=NO, 1=ONCE OR TWICE, 2=SOMETIMES, 3=OFTEN).

1. Refused to lend her money or to help her out financial in other ways?
2. Put the interests of other members of the family before hers?
3. Put yourself out for her‚ for example by getting her to bed or by clearing up mess after her after she had been drinking?
4. Given her money even when you thought it would be spent on drink?
5. Sat down together with her and talked frankly about what could be done about her drinking?
6. Started an argument with her about her drinking?
7. Pleaded with her about her consumption of alcohol?
8. When she was under the influence of drink‚ left her alone to look after herself or kept out of her way?
9. Made it quite clear to her that her drinking was causing you upset and that it had got to change?
10. Felt too frightened to do anything?
11. Tried to limit her drinking by making some rule about it‚ for example forbidding drinking in the house‚ or stopping her bringing drinking friends home?
12. Pursued your own interests or looked for new interests or occupation for yourself‚ or got more involved in a political‚ church‚ sports or other organization?
13. Encouraged her to take an oath or promise not to drink?
14. Felt too hopeless to do anything?
15. Avoided her as much as possible because of her drinking?
16. Got moody or emotional with her?
17. Watched her every move or checked up on her or kept a close eye on her?
18. Got on with your own things or acted as if she wasn’t there?
19. Made it clear that you won’t accept her reasons for drinking‚ or cover up for her?
20. Made threats that you didn’t really mean to carry out?
21. Made clear to her your expectations of what she should do to contribute to the family?
22. Stuck up for her or stood by her when others were criticizing her?
23. Got in a state where you didn’t or couldn’t make any decision?
24. Accepted the situation as a part of life that couldn’t be changed?
25. Accused her of not loving you‚ or of letting you down?
26. Sat down with her to help her sort out the financial situation?
27. When things have happened as a result of her drinking‚ made excuses for her‚ covered up for her‚ or taken the blame yourself?
28. Searched for her drink or hidden or disposed of it yourself?
29. Sometimes put yourself first by looking after yourself or giving yourself treats?
30. Tried to keep things looking normal‚ pretended all was well when it wasn’t or hidden the extent of her drinking?