The Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE): Improving Construct Validity and Reliability in a Cohort of Health Professionals.

Objectives: While the Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE) is widely used in clinical and nonclinical populations, the reliability of its subscales is uncertain. This study aimed to establish and improve the construct validity and reliability of the Brief COPE in a cohort of Australian rehabilitation health professionals.

Methods: 343 rehabilitation health professionals completed the Brief COPE and a demographic questionnaire in an anonymous online survey. Principal components analysis was performed to identify the number of factors in the Brief COPE. Factors were interpreted against the theoretical constructs intended to underlie the instrument. Items loading on separate factors then underwent reliability analysis to determine internal consistency of subscales.

Results: Principal components analysis identified two dimensions (task-focused coping and distraction-focused coping) in a modified version of the Brief COPE, with appropriate construct validity and a high level of reliability (Cronbach's alpha: 0.72 to 0.82). The two dimensions were distinct from each other and accounted for over 50% of variance between items.

Conclusion: The modified Brief COPE scale is consistent with existing theories of coping, has demonstrated acceptable reliability and construct validity in a cohort of health professionals, and is appropriate for use in future studies of similar populations.