Brief COPE Inventory: Measuring Coping Strategies
The Brief COPE Inventory is a self-report tool that assesses how people handle stress. It helps clinicians identify specific coping strategies to support better mental health outcomes.

Brief COPE Inventory
This 28-item self-report questionnaire assesses how individuals manage stress. As a condensed version of the full COPE scale, it identifies adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. It's a practical way for clinicians to evaluate behavioural responses to challenging situations efficiently.
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What is Brief COPE Inventory
The Brief COPE Inventory is a trusted tool for measuring how people handle life stressors. It helps clinicians understand specific coping mechanisms. Developed by Carver, this twenty-eight item scale offers a condensed version of the full COPE. It saves valuable time while keeping the core factors intact for quick assessment. It covers fourteen distinct scales, ranging from active coping and planning to denial and substance use. Respondents rate their frequency on a four-point scale, moving from "not at all" to "doing this a lot" to show their current habits. This tool is handy for health psychology, research, and clinical settings. It distinguishes between adaptive and maladaptive strategies, helping professionals spot where a client might need support. It's easy to score and interpret, making it a smart choice for tracking progress in therapy over time.
The Brief COPE Inventory can be scored using a specific approach that focuses on distinct coping styles. There is no overall total score. Instead, you calculate scores for 14 different subscales. Each subscale has two items rated from 1 to 4. You simply add the values for the two items to get a score between 2 and 8 for traits like active coping or denial. Clinicians often group these into adaptive or maladaptive categories to see how a patient handles stress. This helps spot specific behaviours that need work and guides better support plans.
Advantages
Streamlines research data gathering process.
Develops personalised strategies based on assessment data.
Serves diverse clinical needs effectively.
Strengthens evidence through systematic measurement approaches.
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