Meaning-Centered Coping Scale (MCCS)
Developed by David F. Carreno and Nikolett Eisenbeck
The Meaning-Centered Coping Scale (MCCS) is a 9-item scale that measures meaning-centered coping, a set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral coping strategies that serve to create and maintain meaning in life, especially in adverse situations. It includes positive reframing, hope, existential courage, life appreciation, engagement in meaningful activities, interpersonal closeness, and prosociality. This coping style is rooted in Viktor Frankl’s and Paul Wong’s work on meaning in life. The Meaning-Centered Coping Scale has shown a robust structure and strong prediction of mental and physical health in 30 countries, outperforming emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies (see Eisenbeck et al., 2022 ).
Meaning-centered coping has been shown to moderate the impact of various vulnerability factors (eg, gender, age, economic status) on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as stress, anxiety, and depression (Eisenbeck et al., 2021). Research has also found that it is associated with spirituality and emotional intelligence, helping reduce stress and improve well-being (Arslan & Yıldırım, 2021; Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2021). Meaning-centered coping has been linked to lower psychological inflexibility and suicidal ideation (Avsec et al., 2022 ; Türk et al., 2024) , as well as reduced depressive symptoms in caregivers dealing with complicated grief (Wong et al., 2024). Additionally, it has been connected to better sexual health among healthcare workers during COVID-19 (Pérez-Escobar et al., 2024) . Overall, cr oss-cultural research has demonstrated a key role of meaning-centered coping on well-being and health during adverse situations. Furthermore, the MCCS is being used in ongoing research among different populations globally.
The MCCS has been validated in 18 languages (Eisenbeck et al., 2022). There are VALIDATED VERSIONS of the MCCS in English, Spanish, Italian, Modern Arabic, German, French, Bengali, Portuguese (both Brazil and Portugal), Hungarian, Indonesian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Urdu.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE MEANING-CENTERED COPING SCALE (MCCS):
– Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., Wong, P. T., Hicks, J. A., García, A. M. R. R., Puga, J. L., … & García-Montes, J. M. (2022). An international study on psychological coping during COVID-19: Towards a meaning-centered coping style. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 22(1), 100256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100256
– Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., & Pérez-Escobar, J. A. (2021). Meaning-centered coping in the era of COVID-19: direct and moderating effects on depression, anxiety, and stress. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 667. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648383
– Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., Tadros, N., Khalaf, T., Ego, V., Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., & Nassar, E. (2021). Trait Emotional Intelligence and Wellbeing During the Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Meaning-Centered Coping. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1315. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648401
– Quiroga-Garza, A., Cepeda Lopez, A. C., Villarreal Zambrano, S., Villalobos-Daniel, V. E., Carreno, D. F., & Eisenbeck, N. (2021). How having a clear why can help us cope with almost anything: Meaningful well-being and the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1822. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648069
– Arslan, G., & Yıldırım, M. (2021). Meaning-Based Coping and Spirituality During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Effects on Subjective Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646572
– Avsec, A., Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., Kocjan, G. Z., & Kavčič, T. (2022). Coping styles mediate the association between psychological inflexibility and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic: A crucial role of meaning-centered coping. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 26, 201-209.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2022.10.001
– Türk, N., Arslan, G., Kaya, A., Güç, E., & Turan, M. E. (2024). Psychological maltreatment, meaning-centered coping, psychological flexibility, and suicide cognitions: A moderated mediation model. Child Abuse & Neglect, 152, 106735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.106735
– Wong, C. S., Mustafar, M. F. M., & Zulkifly, M. F. M. (2024). Meaning-Centred Coping Predicted Lower Depressive Symptoms among Caregivers with Complicated Grief. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS, 31(5), 267. https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2024.31.5.19
– Pérez-Escobar, J. A., Carreno, D. F., Pérez-Escobar, R., & Eisenbeck, N. (2024). Sexual and Mental Health in Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Exploring the Role of Meaning-Centered Coping. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 21, 1086-1099. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-024-00963-y