Coping with health problems: Developing a reliable and valid multidimensional measure

Current conceptions relating psychological variables to health recognize the key role of coping processes as mediating variables between stress and illness, yet few reliable and valid instruments exist for the assessment of coping with physical health problems. A self-report instrument, the Coping With Health Injuries and Problems Scale (CHIP) was developed identifying 4 basic coping dimensions for responding to health problems: distraction, palliative, instrumental, and emotional preoccupation coping. The CHIP's factor structure, established with a large derivation sample of adults, is cross-validated in a heterogenous group of general medical patients and a homogeneous group of patients being treated for lower back pain. Preliminary construct validity data are presented by comparing the coping behaviors of patients with chronic and acute illnesses and by comparing CHIP scores with basic coping styles.