Coping in Patients With Incurable Lung and Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Validation Study of the Brief COPE

Patients with incurable cancer engage in several coping styles to manage the impact of cancer and its treatment. The Brief COPE is a widely used measure intended to capture multiple and distinct types of coping. The Brief COPE has not been validated among patients with incurable cancer.

We sought to validate seven subscales of the Brief COPE in a large sample of patients newly diagnosed with incurable lung and noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancers (N = 350).

Participants completed the Brief COPE and measures assessing quality of life (QOL) (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General) and psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) within eight weeks of diagnosis of incurable cancer. We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Brief COPE using a confirmatory factor analysis and tests of correlation with the QOL and distress scales.

The Brief COPE factors were consistent with the original subscales, although the Behavioral Disengagement Scale had low internal consistency. Factors showed anticipated relationships with QOL and distress measures, except emotional support coping, which was correlated with increased depression and anxiety. We also conducted an exploratory high-order factor analysis to determine if subscales' score variances grouped together. The high-order factor analysis resulted in two factors, with active, emotional support, positive reframing, and acceptance loading onto one factor and denial and self-blame loading onto the second.

The selected subscales of the Brief COPE are appropriate measures of coping among individuals newly diagnosed with incurable lung and gastrointestinal cancers.