COPE Inventory
The COPE Inventory, developed by Dr. David Carver, is a psychological assessment tool designed to
measure coping strategies. It assesses how individuals handle stress and challenges by evaluating
their use of various coping mechanisms, such as problem-solving, seeking social support, and
emotion regulation. The inventory helps in understanding coping styles.
Domains
1. Active Coping- Taking action, exerting efforts to remove or circumvent
the stressor.
This involves taking proactive steps to manage or eliminate a stressor by
actively addressing the problem.
High Scores:
Proactive
Determined
resilient.
tackle problems head-on
optimistic
fear being overwhelmed by stressors if they are unable to act or if
their efforts are unsuccessful.
Need of control
action-oriented
initiating problem-solving steps,
actively seeking to resolve issues rather than avoiding them.
Low Scores:
passive
avoidant in their approach to stress.
feel helpless or overwhelmed by problems.
fear failure or the potential negative outcomes of taking action
Need external motivation or encouragement to take proactive steps
less inclined to take initiative
avoid directly confronting stressors
wait for problems to resolve on their own.
2. Planning- Thinking about how to confront the stressor, planning one’s
active coping efforts.
This involves thinking through and developing a strategy to deal with a
stressor, including planning the steps for active coping.
High Scores:
strategic, and organized.
approach problems systematically.
fear being unprepared or failing leading to anxiety about their plans.
Need: They need a clear sense of direction and structure when
addressing stressors, as well as confidence in their strategies.
Behavior: They are likely to spend considerable time analyzing and
planning their approach to stress, often creating detailed strategies
before taking action.
Low Scores:
Personality: Those with low scores might be more spontaneous or
less structured in their approach to dealing with stress. They may
prefer to act on impulse rather than following a detailed plan.
Fear: They might fear the complexity or difficulty of planning,
feeling overwhelmed by the thought of devising a strategy.
Need: They may need simple, straightforward solutions or external
guidance to help manage stress without extensive planning.
Behavior: They may engage in more reactive or ad-hoc responses
to stressors, potentially leading to less effective or inconsistent
coping.
3. Seeking Instrumental Social Support- Seeking assistance, information,
or advice about what to do.
4. Seeking Emotional Social Support- Getting Sympathy or emotional
support from someone.
5. Suppression of competing activities- supressing one’s attention to
other activities in which one might engage, in order to concrete more
completely on dealing with the stressor.
6. Religion- Increased engagement in religious activities.
7. Positive Reinterpretation and Growth- making the best of the situation
by growing from it, or viewing it in a more favourable light.
8. Restraint Coping- Coping passively by holding back one’s coping
attempts until they can be of use.
9. Acceptance- Accepting the fact that the stressful event has occurred
and is real.
10. Focus on and Venting of Emotions- An increased awareness of one’s
emotional distress and a concomitant tendency to ventilate or
discharge those feelings.
11. Denial- an attempt to reject the reality of the stressful event.
12. Mental Disengagement- Psychological disengagement from the goal
with which the stressor is interfering, through daydreaming, sleep or
self-distraction.
13. Behavioural Disengagement- Giving up, or withdrawing effort from,
the attempt to attain the goal with which the stressor is interfering.
14. Alcohol/Drug Use- Turning to the use of alcohol or other drugs as a
way of disengaging from the stressor.
15. Humor- Making jokes about this stressor.