The Dimensionality of the Brief COPE Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Brief COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) is a frequently used questionnaire assessing 14 theoretically derived coping mechanisms, but psychometric research has suggested inconsistent results concerning its factor structure. The aim of this study was to investigate primary and secondary order factor structures of the Brief COPE during the COVID-19 pandemic by testing 11 different models by confirmatory factor analyses and to assess differences between sex, age groups, and relationship status. Altogether, 529 respondents from Austria and Germany participated in a web-based survey. Results supported the originally hypothesized 14-factor structure but did not support previously described higher-order structures. However, bass-ackwards analyses suggested systematic overlap between different factors, which might have contributed to different factor solutions in previous research. Measurement invariance across sex, age groups, and relationship status could be confirmed. Findings suggest that cultural and situational aspects as well as the functional level should be considered in research on theoretical framing of coping behavior.

Psychopathological burden and coping strategies among frontline and second-line Italian healthcare workers facing the COVID-19 emergency: Findings from the COMET collaborative network

“…Two other subscales include religion and humor. The 14-factor structure of the Brief-COPE has been recently validated specifically in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (Hanfstingl et al, 2021).…”

Coping in the Emergency Medical Services: Associations with the personnel’s stress, self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and health

“…Studies did not conclude on a unique hierarchical structure of the coping strategies assessed with the Brief-COPE ( Hanfstingl et al, 2021 ; Solberg et al., 2021 ). Therefore, we decided to test the adequacy of the factor solution explored by Cicognani et al (2009) and were able to replicate the factor structure.…”

Predictors of Students’ Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact of Coping Strategies, Sense of Coherence, and Social Support

“…The questionnaire consists of 28 items with a four-stage response format (1 = “I haven’t been doing this at all” to 4 = “I’ve been doing this a lot”). As recommended by Hanfstingl et al (2021), who tested the factor structure, the original 14 factor structure was kept instead of a higher structure order [ 46 ]. Because of the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, retrospective situational coping was assessed instead of concurrent situational coping or dispositional coping [ 47 ].…”