Shortened Coping Strategies Inventory-28

Purpose of the Scale

The scale was created by Carver in 1997 and aims to assess individuals who use various behavioral strategies to cope with problems.

Scale Analysis

The Brief-COPE is a self-report scale consisting of 28 statements that assess how individuals manage stress-inducing situations. The statements are divided into 14 subscales, with each subscale containing two statements.

Scoring and Statistical Analysis

The scoring of the scale is based on a Likert-type scale with four response options (1 = not at all, 4 = very much), which reflect how frequently each strategy is used. A total score is not calculated, but for each subscale, the score is determined by adding the responses to the two corresponding statements. Factor analysis revealed that subscales can be further grouped into four major interpretable factors.

Validity and Reliability of the Scale

The scale ensures good apparent validity and reliability, as shown by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all 14 subscales. The adaptation done by Panayiotou et al. in 2008 was comparable to the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of Carver’s original version from 1997. The subscales of distraction, venting, and self-blame exhibited lower coefficients.

References

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.
Kapsou, M., Demetriou, A. P., Panayiotou, G., & Kokkinos, C. M. (2008). Factor analysis of Brief COPE in a sample of Greek Cypriot adults.