2.4. Jalowiec coping scale (JSC)

The JSC consists of 60 items that assess the types of coping behaviors, and in part A, the frequency of use on a 4‐point Likert scale from 0 (never used) to 3 (often used) is asked. In part B, the respondent should identify the helpfulness of each coping strategy based on a 4‐point Likert scale from 0 (not helpful) to 3 (very helpful). The JCS was initially based on the TMSC to assess problem‐focused and emotion‐focused types of coping but there is no exact classification of coping strategies into this two categories. This scale covers eight coping styles: confrontive (10 items), evasive (13 items), optimistic (9 items), fatalistic (4 items), emotive (5 items), palliative (7 items), supportive (7 items), and self‐reliant (7 items) copings. Not all these coping strategies are adaptive and some strategies such as evasive or fatalistic may be maladaptive, while confrontive and optimistic coping strategies may be viewed as adaptive. However, there is no definite classification of these strategies into healthy/adaptive or unhealthy/maladaptive. A higher score in each domain indicates the frequency of use and its perceived effectiveness. This instrument has been previously validated in Iranian MS patients and demonstrates solid psychometric properties in this population (Saffari et al., 2016).