Psychometric evaluation of the brief RCOPE and relationships with psychological functioning among caregivers of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Objective: Spiritual and religious (S/R) coping is a relevant yet understudied domain of coping among caregivers of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). The aims of this manuscript are to: (1) conduct the first psychometric evaluation of the Brief RCOPE in this population; (2) examine levels of and changes in S/R coping over time; and (3) explore the relationship between S/R coping trajectories and psychological functioning post-HCT.

Methods: Caregivers (n = 170) of children (ages ≤12 years, n = 170) undergoing HCT completed the Brief RCOPE and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) pre- and at multiple time points post-HCT discharge. Factor structure, internal consistency, and validity were examined. Growth mixture models were used to identify subgroups with similar S/R coping trajectories, with group memberships added to mixture models to explore relationships between group membership and caregiver psychological functioning trajectories.

Results: The Brief RCOPE exhibited the previously-supported two factor structure and each subscale demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.85 and 0.92). Validity was supported by significant correlations with BSI scores. There were distinct subgroups of caregivers with different patterns of positive (n = 4 subgroups) and negative (n = 3 subgroups) S/R coping, with negative coping subgroup membership predicting changes in psychological functioning.

Conclusions: The Brief RCOPE is a promising measure for assessing S/R coping among caregivers of children undergoing HCT and has the potential to identify caregivers at risk for poorer long-term psychological functioning.