Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41353669›Full record

ArticlePsicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS2025

Understanding the structure of coping strategies in context: a psychometric validation of the Brief-COPE among Colombian adults.

Nicolás García-Mejía, Leonidas Castro-Camacho, Judith K Daniels, Anja F Ernst, Marieke E Timmerman, Miriam J J Lommen

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Article in Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Nicolás García-MejíaDepartment of Psychology, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. n.garcia.mejia@rug.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6137-8646
Leonidas Castro-CamachoDepartment of Psychology, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5010-7672
Judith K DanielsDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat, 2/1, Groningen, 9712 TS, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6304-2310
Anja F ErnstPsychometrics and Statistics, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4398-7231
Marieke E TimmermanPsychometrics and Statistics, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1579-6964
Miriam J J LommenDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Grote Kruisstraat, 2/1, Groningen, 9712 TS, Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8845-4338

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study validates the Spanish version of the Brief-COPE in the Colombian context. This tool assesses 14 different coping strategies, including positive coping, planning, emotional support, instrumental support, substance use, and religion, among others. The structural validations of this tool in Latin America, Europe, North America, and Asia yielded heterogeneous results, with validations in Latin America often having limitations in their data analysis methodologies and sample size. This study aims to address these limitations and provide methodologically sound evidence on the structural validity, reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the instrument for adults in Colombia.

methodsA total of 762 participants completed the Brief-COPE along with the ERQ, the Wellbeing Index, the HSCL-25, the PCL-C, and the Kessler 6. Categorical Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed to assess the fit of 12 different theory and data-driven models. After identifying the best-fitting model, reliability, divergent, and convergent validity were assessed for the resulting factors.

resultsThe best-fitting CFA model for the Brief-COPE had 11 factors: active coping, social support, acceptance, venting, self-distraction, behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, humor, religion, and substance use. Substance use, active coping, religion, social support, humor, self-blame, denial, and behavioral disengagement demonstrated good reliability (Omega > = .7), whereas the remaining subscales demonstrated insufficient reliability (Omega > .6 and Omega < .7). Maladaptive coping strategies were found to positively correlate with distress measures, while adaptive strategies exhibited negative correlations, as expected. However, social support and humor presented significant positive associations with PCL-C and HSCL.

conclusionsThis study provides evidence supporting an 11-factor structure for the Brief-COPE in Colombian adults, with most factors demonstrating satisfactory reliability. Researchers should use caution when interpreting subscales with lower reliability. The results also underscore the influence of cultural context on coping patterns, given the heterogeneous factor structures found in other validations. Future studies should recruit more diverse samples to enhance generalizability and further investigate the predictive validity of this adapted tool.

Indexed as

Brief-COPEConfirmatory factor analysisCopingPsychometricValidation

Identifiers

PMID41353669
PMCPMC12682728

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.