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Brief-COPE

Brief-COPE
psychologyhealth sciencesFree for research use

Permission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.

A 28-item abbreviated version of the COPE inventory measuring 14 coping strategies (two items each), spanning problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping.

Items
28
Response format
4-point frequency scale
Version
1.0
Subscales
14

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Coping was assessed with the Brief-COPE (Carver, 1997), a 28-item measure of 14 coping strategies (two items each), each scored as a separate scale.

Citing this in a methods section? This scale spans more than one discipline, so the style depends on where you publish. See the APA 7 or Vancouver guides, or compare all six citation styles.

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Reliability & validation

Validation population
Community adults recovering from Hurricane Andrew (Carver, 1997)

Subscales

Active copingPlanningPositive reframingAcceptanceHumorReligionUsing emotional supportUsing instrumental supportSelf-distractionDenialVentingSubstance useBehavioral disengagementSelf-blame

Response anchors

I haven't been doing this at all · I've been doing this a little bit · I've been doing this a medium amount · I've been doing this a lot

Known limitations

Each of the 14 subscales has only two items, so individual subscale reliabilities are modest and unstable; researchers often combine them into higher-order composites whose structure varies across samples.

Original citation

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.

https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6

Questions researchers ask

What does the Brief-COPE measure?

A 28-item abbreviated version of the COPE inventory measuring 14 coping strategies (two items each), spanning problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping.

How many items does the Brief-COPE have?

The Brief-COPE (Brief-COPE) has 28 items across 14 subscales: Active coping, Planning, Positive reframing, Acceptance, Humor, Religion, Using emotional support, Using instrumental support, Self-distraction, Denial, Venting, Substance use, Behavioral disengagement, Self-blame.

Is the Brief-COPE free to use?

The Brief-COPE is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.

Who developed the Brief-COPE, and how do I cite it?

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. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6

Or track new research mentioning Brief-COPE as it publishes

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Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.