ABSTRACT
In the context of rising expectations in relation to health, coping has come to be viewed as a critical construct in diathesis-stress models of health. Coping has been conceptualized as a conscious behavioral, affective, and cognitive attempt to mediate a perceived discrepancy between situational demands and personal capacity or competence (Endler, 1988). In the area of coping with health, there are constructs about which there is general agreement, such as on task-oriented and emotion-oriented coping. However, much remains unsettled. Perhaps the most basic disagreement is whether research should deal with interindividual coping (styles) or intraindividual coping (processes). Although many coping scales have been developed, few meet rigorous test construction standards, due to poor psychometric qualities. Many scales have a very narrow focus, being limited to particular behaviors applicable only to a single illness. Further, the coping dimensions assessed may vary from scale to scale, making comparison of results between studies and across illnesses very difficult.
