RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The COPE questionnaire has often been used as an efficient method of assessing a range of coping dimensions in many areas, including alcohol research. To date, however, this questionnaire has not been validated for use in community drinkers or alcohol-dependent samples. This study aimed to rectify this shortcoming in the literature. METHOD: Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed for 600 Australians (315 men, 285 women; 300 community drinkers and 300 individuals dependent on alcohol), in an attempt to confirm the 14 primary factors and the higher-order factor structure of the COPE. RESULTS: The results of the CFA showed that, whereas a 14-factor primary structure and the popular 3-factor higher-order structure were confirmed in the sample of community drinkers, the 4-factor model (COPE) was not confirmed. No support for any factor solution was found in the alcohol-dependent sample. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the COPE has good psychometric properties when assessing community drinkers, but it is not an adequate tool for assessing dimensions of coping in an alcohol-dependent sample and should be used with extreme caution.