Using the COPE Inventory with Families

The COPE Inventory is used to assess various ways of coping with stress. Consider a scenario of a family dealing with one child being newly diagnosed with a chronic illness, which is very distressing for the parents and the other children in the family. Review the COPE and consider how this inventory could be useful as an assessment in this case. Provide a rationale for your position. State the limitations of this assessment with this case. What are the ethical considerations that should be kept in mind when communicating the assessment results to the family members?

• Litman, J. & Lunsford, G. (2009). Frequency of use and impact of coping strategies assessed by the COPE Inventory and their relationships to post-event health and well-being. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(7), 982–991.
• Olson, D. H. (2000). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. Journal of Family Therapy, 22(2), 144–166.