Coping Among Breast Cancer Survivors: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Brief COPE
Open accessAbstract
Background and Purpose: Cancer survivors continue to cope with significant stressors after completing treatment. The Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) is frequently used to measure coping; however, its factor structure remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine the best factor conceptualization of the Brief COPE for use among breast cancer survivors. Methods: Breast cancer survivors (N = 1,127) completed the Brief COPE. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses comparing several a priori models based on research in cancer-relevant populations. Results: Of the eight models examined, the 14-factor model of the Brief COPE showed the best fit. Conclusions: Despite efforts to simplify the structure of the Brief COPE, our results suggest coping among breast cancer survivors is best assessed using Carver's (1997) original 14-factor conceptualization.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The Brief COPE has been demonstrated to be reasonably reliable with Cronbach alpha levels ranging from 0.50 to 0.90 for each subscale.
“The Brief COPE has been demonstrated to be reasonably reliable with Cronbach alpha levels ranging from 0.50 to 0.90 for each subscale (Carver, 1997; Rand et al., 2019).”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet
References 41 · Cited by 32
Research works printed but not linked: 33
- Avis NE, Crawford S, & Manuel J. (2004). Psychosocial problems among younger women with breast cancer. Psycho‐Oncology, 13(5), 295– 308. 15133771
- Berry DA, Cronin KA, Plevritis SK, Fryback DG, Clarke L, Zelen M, … & Feuer EJ (2005). Effect of screening and adjuvant therapy on mortality from breast cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, 353(17), 1784– 1792. 16251534
- Carver CS (1997). You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1), 92– 100. 16250744
- Carver CS, Pozo C, Harris SD, Noriega V, Scheier MF, Robinson DS, … & Clark KC (1993). How coping mediates the effect of optimism on distress: a study of women with early stage breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 375. 8366426
- Chen CC, David A, Thompson K, Smith C, Lea S, & Fahy T. (1996). Coping strategies and psychiatric morbidity in women attending breast assessment clinics. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 40(3), 265– 270. 8861122
- Classen C, Koopman C, Angell K, & Spiegel D. (1996). Coping styles associated with psychological adjustment to advanced breast cancer. Health Psychology, 15(6), 434. 8973923
- Cordova MJ, Cunningham LL, Carlson CR, & Andrykowski MA (2001). Social constraints, cognitive processing, and adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 706. 11550737
- Cronin KA, Feuer EJ, Clarke LD, & Plevritis SK (2006). Chapter 15: Impact of adjuvant therapy and mammography on US mortality from 1975 to 2000: Comparison of mortality results from the CISNET breast cancer base case analysis. JNCI Monographs, 2006(36), 112– 121. 17032901
- David D, Montgomery GH, & Bovbjerg DH (2006). Relations between coping responses and optimism–pessimism in predicting anticipatory psychological distress in surgical breast cancer patients. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(2), 203– 213. 19079761 PMC2600560
- Deimling GT, Bowman KF, Sterns S, Wagner LJ, & Kahana B. (2006). Cancer‐related health worries and psychological distress among older adult, long‐term cancer survivors. Psycho‐Oncology, 15(4), 306– 320. 16041841
- Delgado-Guay MO, Hui D, Parsons HA, Govan K, De la Cruz M, Thorney S, & Bruera E. (2011). Spirituality, religiosity, and spiritual pain in advanced cancer patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 41(6), 986– 994. 21402459
- Demark-Wahnefried W, Peterson BL, Winer EP, Marks L, Aziz N, Marcom PK, … & Rimer BK (2001). Changes in weight, body composition, and factors influencing energy balance among premenopausal breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 19(9), 2381– 2389. 11331316
- Dougall AL, Smith AW, Somers TJ, Posluszny DM, Rubinstein WS, & Baum A. (2009). Coping with genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71(1), 98– 105. 19124622
- Fillion L, Kovacs AH, Gagnon P, & Endler NS (2002). Validation of the shortened COPE for use with breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Current Psychology, 21(1), 17– 34.
- Ford JK, MacCallum RC, & Tait M. (1986). The application of exploratory factor analysis in applied psychology: A critical review and analysis. Personnel Psychology, 39(2), 291– 314.
- Ganz PA, Greendale GA, Petersen L, Kahn B, & Bower JE (2003). Breast cancer in younger women: reproductive and late health effects of treatment. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 21(22), 4184– 4193. 14615446
- Green HJ, Wells DJ, & Laakso L. (2011). Coping in men with prostate cancer and their partners: a quantitative and qualitative study. European Journal of Cancer Care, 20(2), 237– 247. 20825459
- Gregorich SE (2006). Do self-report instruments allow meaningful comparisons across diverse population groups? Testing measurement invariance using the confirmatory factor analysis framework. Medical Care, 44(11 Suppl 3), S78. PMC1808350 17060839
- Hack TF, & Degner LF (2004). Coping responses following breast cancer diagnosis predict psychological adjustment three years later. Psycho‐Oncology, 13(4), 235– 247. 15054728
- Herbenick D, Reece M, Hollub A, Satinsky S, & Dodge B. (2008). Young female breast cancer survivors: Their sexual function and interest in sexual enhancement products and services. Cancer Nursing, 31(6), 417– 425. 18987508
- Hu LT, & Bentler PM (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1– 55.
- Jöreskog KG (2005). Structural equation modeling with ordinal variables using LISREL (pp. 2002–2005). Technical report, Scientific Software International, Inc, Lincolnwood, IL.
- Jöreskog KG, & Moustaki I. (2001). Factor analysis of ordinal variables: A comparison of three approaches. Multivariate Behavioral Research,, 36(3), 347– 387. 26751181
- Kim SH, Son BH, Hwang SY, Han W, Yang JH, Lee S, & Yun YH (2008). Fatigue and depression in disease-free breast cancer survivors: prevalence, correlates, and association with quality of life. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 35(6), 644– 655. 18358687
- McCaul KD, Sandgren AK, King B, O’Donnell S, Branstetter A, & Foreman G. (1999). Coping and adjustment to breast cancer. Psycho‐Oncology, 8(3), 230– 236. 10390735
- Saquib N, Flatt SW, Natarajan L, Thomson CA, Bardwell WA, Caan B, … & Pierce JP (2007). Weight gain and recovery of pre-cancer weight after breast cancer treatments: evidence from the women’s healthy eating and living (WHEL) study. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 105(2), 177– 186. 17123151
- Schagen SB, Muller MJ, Boogerd W, Mellenbergh GJ, & Van Dam FS (2006). Change in cognitive function after chemotherapy: a prospective longitudinal study in breast cancer patients. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 98(23), 1742– 1745. 17148777
- Schmidt ME, Chang-Claude J, Vrieling A, Heinz J, Flesch-Janys D, & Steindorf K. (2012). Fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: temporal courses and long-term pattern. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 6(1), 11– 19. 22160661
- Schnoll RA, Harlow LL, Stolbach LL, & Brandt U. (1998). A structural model of the relationships among stage of disease, age, coping, and psychological adjustment in women with breast cancer. Psycho‐Oncology, 7(2), 69– 77. 9589505
- Siegel R, DeSantis C, Virgo K, Stein K, Mariotto A, Smith T, … & Lin C. (2012). Cancer treatment and survivorship statistics, 2012. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 62(4), 220– 241. 22700443
- Silva SM, Crespo C, & Canavarro MC (2012). Pathways for psychological adjustment in breast cancer: A longitudinal study on coping strategies and posttraumatic growth. Psychology and Health, 27(11), 1323– 1341. 22490001
- Tabachnick BG, & Fidell LS (2007). Using multivariate statistics, Boston, MC: Pearson Education.
- Thomas KS, Bower J, Hoyt MA, & Sepah S. (2010). Disrupted sleep in breast and prostate cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy: the role of coping processes. Psycho‐Oncology, 19(7), 767– 776. 19885853 PMC2922069
- Authors
- Rand, K. L., Cohee, A. A., Monahan, P. O., Wagner, L. I., Shanahan, M. L., & Champion, V. L.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US)
- Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Nursing Measurement
- Publisher
- Springer Publishing Company
- Published
- 2019-08-01
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 259-276
- ISSN
- 1061-3749 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-7049
- PMC
- PMC6787924
- OpenAlex
- W2972315063
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 2.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Nursing Measurement (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
- PMC
- Funders
- National Cancer Institute (UG1CA189828, U10CA180795, K05CA175048, T32CA117865)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
- Keywords
- Brief COPE, coping, breast cancer survivors, factor structure, psychometric validation
- MeSH terms
- Cancer Survivors, Adaptation, Psychological, Breast Neoplasms, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
