Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales – F-COPES
Measures family coping strategies and problem-solving attitudes in response to crises and difficulties.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales – F-COPES was developed by Hamilton I. McCubbin, David H. Olson, Andrea S. Larsen (1981). It is designed to measure Family Coping Strategies. The scale is intended for use with Families and adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 30 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Acquiring Social Support, Reframing, Seeking Spiritual Support, Mobilizing the Family to Accept Help, Passive Appraisal.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Acquiring Social Support | 1,2,5,8,10,16,20,25,29 | 9 |
| Reframing | 3,7,11,13,15,19,22,24 | 8 |
| Seeking Spiritual Support | 14,23,27,30 | 4 |
| Mobilizing the Family to Accept Help | 4,6,9,21 | 4 |
| Passive Appraisal | 12,17,26,28 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 30 to 150. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Coping Resources: 30 – 70
- Moderate Coping Resources: 71 – 110
- High Coping Resources: 111 – 150
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.86.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.