Methods of Maintaining Mental Health in Iranian Patients with Cancer: The Factor Structure of Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Scale

Brief COPE is the common instrument in assessment of patients’ coping strategies. As the factor structure of the instrument has shown to vary in different clinical populations, this study aimed to cross-validate the factor structure of the Brief COPE among Iranian women with breast cancer.

The sample consisted of 224 women with breast cancer who recruited from October 2014 to May 2015, in Tehran, Iran. Factor analyses using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was executed. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. The analysis was carried out using SPSS 24.

PCA results indicated nine factors explaining 61.6% of the total variance. Acceptance and cope religion could compose independent factors. Each pair of positive reframing and planning, use of emotional support and use of instrumental support, substance use and withdrawal, and venting and self-blame composed one united component. Humor was extracted as an independent factor in the 9-factor structure. The internal consistency of the nine factors ranged from 0.54 to 0.72, and those of functional and dysfunctional copings were 0.83 and 0.61, respectively.

Consistent with previous studies, Brief Cope shows different factor structures in Iranian women with breast cancer. Researchers using this instrument are suggested to be aware of the possible changes in the combinations of the strategies among their population of interest.