Coping Strategies (Brief COPE)

Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) — 28 items about how you cope with stress, across 14 strategies (2 items each): self-distraction, active coping, denial, substance use, emotional and instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, venting, positive reframing, planning, humor, acceptance, religion, self-blame. It's a core target of CBT: coping is something you can consciously change. There's no single "total" score — each strategy is looked at separately; the same strategies are helpful or harmful depending on context.

Before you start

This is a map of coping strategies, not a diagnosis. Brief COPE has no single total score and no "good/bad" strategies out of context: the same strategy helps or harms depending on the situation. Each of the 14 subscales is looked at separately. A high score on avoidant strategies (denial, substances, disengagement, self-blame) is a reason to review your coping, not a label.