Psychometric evaluation of the 28-item coping orientation to problems experienced inventory (Brief COPE) amongst parents of preschool children from low-income backgrounds.
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BACKGROUND: The 28-item Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE) is widely used to assess coping strategies, but reported factor structures range from 2 to 15 factors, raising concerns about structural stability. Only one study has applied Rasch analysis to examine unidimensionality and overall model fit of a four-factor French Brief COPE among cancer patients and caregivers. However, item fit and response categories were not evaluated. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Brief COPE among parents of preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Specifically, we evaluated reliability using internal consistency and composite reliability; construct validity through structural validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and hypothesis testing with stress, anxiety, depression, and hair cortisol; and item- and response-option performance using item response theory analysis. METHODS: We analyzed baseline data from three clinical trials conducted between 2021 and 2024. Participants were parents of preschoolers enrolled in Head Start programs in the Midwestern United States. Participants completed online surveys assessing coping, stress, anxiety, depression, and demographics, and provided hair samples for cortisol analysis. RESULTS: The sample included 348 parents (Mage =30.89 years), randomly divided for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor structure after removing four items due to high inter-item correlations or cross-loadings: adaptive coping, support coping, avoidant coping, and religious coping. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated good fit: CFI=0.92, TLI=0.91, RMSEA=0.06 (90% CI: 0.05-0.07), and SRMR=0.08. Convergent validity was adequate for support coping (average variance extracted=0.64) and religious coping (0.71), borderline for adaptive coping (0.49), and low for avoidant coping (0.38). Discriminant validity was supported by inter-construct correlations (r=0.10-0.59) and square roots of the average variance extracted values exceeding corresponding inter-construct correlations. Construct validity was partially supported by significant associations between coping dimensions and stress, anxiety, and depression, but not hair cortisol. Internal consistency (α=0.81-0.88) and composite reliability (0.83-0.90) were strong. Most items showed adequate difficulty and discrimination, while several appeared redundant. Information curves were unimodal. Response option "3″ was under-endorsed across multiple items, and several items had sparsely used options, indicating a need to collapse or revise response options. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the reliability and validity of a four-factor, 24-item Brief COPE in parents of preschoolers with low-income. However, variability in item- and response-option performance indicates opportunities for targeted item consolidation and response-option refinement. Future efforts should implement these revisions and cross-validate the refined scale.