The Coping Strategies Task: Assessment of Coping in Schizophrenia

Abstract The current study presents the: 1) conceptual development of a preliminary measure, the Coping Strategies Task (CST), for assessing coping-related cognition in a group of long-term, hospitalized individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders; and 2) preliminary reliability and validation data of the CST. The CST was designed for persons with severe and persistent mental illness, and study participants included thirty-three individuals in comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation. Reliability analyses revealed that the CST and its subscales demonstrated adequate reliability, although one subscale (Behavioral Reaction) demonstrated less robust split-half and test-retest reliabilities. Concurrent validity was evaluated by analyzing the relationship between the CST and measures of stress, observed behavior, and neurocognition. Correlational analyses revealed that coping attributions, as measured by the CST, were associated with perceived stress, observed behavior, and executive functioning. These preliminary data suggest that the CST could become a valid, clinically useful coping measure in order to further inform psychiatric rehabilitation.