Coping Strategies: Problem-Focused Coping, Emotion-Focused Coping and Meaning-Centered Coping

The Brief COPE Inventory is a 28-item self-report measure of coping styles in response to a stressful experience (Carver, 1997). We used the Spanish adaptation (Morán et al., 2010) of the Brief COPE Inventory to measure two different coping strategies: problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Participants answer on a Likert-type scale of four response alternatives ranging from “0” (“I never do this”) to 3 (“I always do this”). Instructions were adapted to focus on coping in the context of COVID-19. Similar to previous studies on the psychological impact of pandemics (e.g., Yeung and Fung, 2007; Huang et al., 2020) we created two composite scores out of the 14 proposed subscales: problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, and instrumental support; α = 0.749) and emotion-focused coping (use of emotional support, self-distraction, relief, behavioral disconnection, positive reinterpretation, denial, acceptance, religion, substance use, humor, and self-blame; α = 0.791).

We used the meaning-centered coping scale (MCCS) recently developed by Eisenbeck et al. (2021) to measure meaning-centered coping during the current pandemic. Items describe coping strategies such as positive reframing, maintaining life appreciation and hope, adopting a courageous attitude against adversity, and being involved in prosocial and meaningful activities. Participants rated items on a Likert scale from 1 (I do not agree at all) to 7 (I completely agree). The instrument has shown satisfactory psychometric properties in 18 languages, including Spanish (detailed information can be shared upon request to the following email: se.lau@kcebnesie.ttelokin). Consistency in this study was excellent (α = 0.899).