Does the Factor Structure of The Brief COPE Fit Different Types of Traumatic Events? A Test of Measurement Invariance

Abstract

The current study aims to explore the likelihood of there being a higher-order factorial model of the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997) that is equally appropriate and valid for different traumatic groups (i.e., breast cancer patients and female flood survivors) at 3–4 months after the traumatic event. Both groups of participants include 180 survivors. Five factorial models for the Brief COPE were identified when reviewing the literature, and model comparisons were made by conducting confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). The three dimensions of the Brief COPE posited by Litman (2006) and Gutiérrez, Peri, Torres, Caseras, and Valdés (2007), namely self-sufficient coping, socially-supported coping, and avoidant coping, were supported in both traumatic populations. Tests of measurement invariance generally supported invariance (factor form, factor loadings, item intercepts, error variances, factor variances, and covariances) across groups, implying that groups perceive the latent factors in the same way and the higher-order coping across different traumatic groups is meaningful. Moreover, the relationship between the three higher-order coping factors and variables of psychological adjustment was examined. Generally, different relationships between the subtypes of coping and the outcomes of adaptation existed between female flood survivors and breast cancer patients. Further theoretical and practical implications for these relationships are discussed.