The Brief Cope is a 28-item questionnaire that identifies in what ways an individual copes after discovering that he/she will be undergoing an operation.
ITEM CODING
Each item is scored on a scale from 1 to 4 based on how much an individual has been using a given coping mechanism:
1 = I haven’t been doing this at all
2 = I’ve been doing this a little bit
3 = I’ve been doing this a medium amount
4 = I’ve been doing this a lot
SCALES
Self-distraction: items 1 and 19
Active coping: items 2 and 7
Denial: items 3 and 8
Substance use: items 4 and 11
Use of emotional support: items 5 and 15
Use of instrumental support: items 10 and 23
Behavioral disengagement: items 6 and 16
Venting: items 9 and 21
Positive reframing: items 12 and 17
Planning: items 14 and 25
Humor: items 18 and 28
Acceptance: items 20 and 24
Religion: items 22 and 27
Self-blame: items 13 and 26
RESOURCE FILES
REFERENCES
Carver, C. S. (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’too long: Consider the brief cope. International journal of behavioral medicine, 4(1), 92.