Citation

Cramer RJ, Braitman A, Bryson CN, Long MM, La Guardia AC. Eval. Health Prof. 2020; 43(2): 120-130.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0163278719873698

PMID

31495195

Abstract

The Brief COPE has seen frequent use across populations despite lack of confirmatory factor-analytic examination. We further examine Brief COPE validity with respect to self- and other-directed aggression because emerging adulthood represents a distinct developmental time period in which stress, poor coping, and aggression intersect. Drawing on archival data (n = 576) from a larger investigation of college student health, this cross-sectional survey study tested (1) four competing Brief COPE factor structures, (2) Brief COPE factor associations with aggression, and (3) stress by coping interactions predicting aggression outcomes. Prominent findings included (1) poor-to-marginal confirmatory factor-analytic support for a four-factor structure; (2) positive bivariate associations of avoidant coping with elevated stress, depression, suicide, self-injury, and aggression; (3) positive bivariate associations between adaptive coping strategies with stress and aggression; and (4) an interaction where avoidant coping has a stronger association with other-directed aggression for those low in stress. The interaction findings were significant for males only and applied specifically to hostility.

FINDINGS are contextualized within future Brief COPE research as well as emerging adulthood theory.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Male; Adolescent; Emotions; suicide; Young Adult; Social Support; Mental Health; Aggression; Surveys and Questionnaires; aggression; stress; Adaptation, Psychological; college students; Stress, Psychological; Problem Solving; Brief COPE