Coping Strategies in the Structure of Activity and Self-Regulation: Psychometric Properties and Applications of the COPE Inventory

Abstract

The paper reviews the main issues and findings of coping research in psychology, paying particular attention to the problems of classification, effectiveness, and personality predictors of coping strategies. We present the results of 3 studies (combined sample N=590) aimed at the development of a new Russian-language adaptation of the COPE inventory (Carver, Scheier, Weintraub, 1989). The reliability of the scales is comparable to that of the original English version, and the structure is supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Gender and age differences in self-reported coping strategy use are presented: Russian females are more likely to rely on active emotional expression, social support, and mental disengagement. Coping strategies demonstrated predictable associations with subjective well-being (satisfaction with life, subjective vitality, dispositional optimism, meaning), as well as self-regulation and hardiness indicators. In a student sample (N=138), specific coping strategies were associated with academic performance improvement from the 1st to the 4th semester (planning, active coping, use of emotional social support, concentration on emotions, and suppression of competing activities; academic performance was negatively predicted by positive reinterpretation and humor). In two other samples (N=149 and N=151) we explored coping strategies associated with the effectiveness of self-regulation (setting goals and goal attainment), and differences in coping strategies predicting psychological well-being in disabled and non-disabled students. The results provide evidence of convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity of the Russian version of the COPE inventory.