Validation of a Scale of Religious and Spiritual Coping (RCOPE) for the Portuguese Population

Abstract

The scale of religious and spiritual coping (RCOPE) is one of the most used measures in the evaluation of coping strategies based on faith. Despite being validated for the Portuguese language in the Brazilian context, there was still no validation for European Portuguese, which seems important considering the cultural differences. We aimed at examining the validity and reliability of the RCOPE with a Portuguese sample. The present study used cross-sectional data from 1103 volunteers that completed the online survey. After randomly splitting the sample (1:1) for cross-validation purposes, an ordinal exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed. McDonald’s omega, Cronbach’s alpha and mean inter-item correlations were used to determine the internal consistency and homogeneity of the RCOPE. The convergent and discriminant validity of the scale was assessed using standardized factor loadings, the average variance extracted and the squared correlation between latent factors, respectively. In the current study, the final structure of the scale included 17 items aggregated into two correlated latent factors. The Portuguese version of the RCOPE showed acceptable psychometric proprieties, which will be an advantageous instrument for the practice and research of psychology in religion and spirituality.