[Reliability and validity of the Zurich Questionnaire of Coping with Illness].

The coping behavior of three groups of patients (N = 585) was assessed by a 45-item-questionnaire, a revised version of the Zurich Coping Questionnaire (ZKV) published earlier. The following three coping patterns resulted, established by factor analysis: ZKV-1: Depressive coping (Cronbach-alpha = .86), ZKV-2: Self-encouragement/distraction (.81) and ZKV-3: Problem tackling (.60). Retest-stability for the two scales 1 and 3 was high (r greater than .74, 12-month-interval). Concurrent and prognostic validity was assessed. The results indicate that the ZKV is a useful instrument for coping research, especially for the prognostic rating of the subsequent coping behavior.