An Instrument for Measuring Coping Behaviours in Hospitalized Alcoholics: Implications for Relapse Prevention Treatment

Summary The results of a principal components analysis of the Coping Behaviours Inventory administered to 256 hospitalized alcoholic patients are compared with a reanalysis of data obtained from a different group of patients five years ago. These results indicate that the factor structure of the Inventory is stable over time and with different alcoholic patient populations. The four factors emerging from the present study, which account for 54% of the variance, were: Positive Thinking Negative Thinking Avoidance/Distraction Seeking Social Support The possible uses of this instrument in monitoring and informing some types of alcoholism‐treatment programmes are discussed.