Consuming to cope: Development of a measure

Consumption of a range of substances has been associated with human coping behaviour. Accordingly, food, caffeine, cigarettes, alcohol and/or other drugs are consumed as a coping strategy, in response to a stressful situation by some individuals. While various perspectives within the field of psychology have examined consumptive coping behaviour, there has been limited exploration of the specific functions that this coping strategy may serve. The primary aim of this research was to explore various functions that consumptive coping serves, via construction of a self-report questionnaire. The relevant literature on coping with stressful events and increased consumption was reviewed and critically examined, as was the current state of self-report measurement of consumptive coping. Subsequently, it was proposed that there is a niche for more thorough research into the perceived utility of this coping strategy. Based on the literature, five functions of consumptive coping were anticipated, namely escape/sooth emotions, physical relief, distraction from thoughts, time-out and self-punishment. Various methods were presented that investigated the phenomenon of consumptive coping, and detailed the construction and refinement of a self-report measure, titled the Consuming to Cope Questionnaire (CCQ)...