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Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC)3

Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC) Test

This 21-question assessment explores how you analyze situations, anticipate difficulties, plan actions, recognize personal limitations, and seek support. In four minutes, the Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC) Test shows relative strengths and areas for development across these abilities, helping you reflect on how you prepare for challenges and turn goals into realistic action.

Questions: 214 minutes

Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence: situation and reply bubbles

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Awareness of Personal LimitationsAoPL

Measures how well a person recognizes their own limits and matches goals and plans to available resources.

example score18/25

18/25Generally realisticexample score

5 – 15Needs more realism

16 – 23Generally realistic

24 – 25Highly resource-aware

A score of 18 falls in the 'Generally realistic' range, suggesting you usually evaluate your capabilities and constraints adequately when planning, with some room to refine this awareness under pressure.

Social SupportSS

Measures how effectively a person seeks social support and uses feedback in communication when facing challenges.

example score10/20

10/20Limited support seekingexample score

4 – 11Limited support seeking

12 – 18Adequate support seeking

19 – 20Strong support seeking

A score of 10 suggests relatively limited use of social support and feedback in communication compared with higher scorers on this scale.

Problem AnticipationPA

Measures how well a person notices early warning signs and anticipates potential obstacles before they escalate.

example score27/30

27/30Developing forecastingexample score

6 – 19Lower forecasting

20 – 28Developing forecasting

29 – 30Strong forecasting

A score of 27 falls in the Developing forecasting range, suggesting generally strong awareness of early difficulties and likely obstacles, though not consistently at the very highest level.

Situation AnalysisSA

Measures how effectively a person analyzes challenging circumstances and identifies solution options under stress.

example score24/35

24/35Adequate analysisexample score

7 – 22Limited analysis

23 – 33Adequate analysis

34 – 35Strong analysis

A score of 24 falls in the Adequate analysis range, suggesting a generally effective approach to understanding stressful situations and generating workable solutions.

PlanningP

Measures strategic goal setting, anticipating future developments, and following through with planned actions.

example score23/35

23/35Developingexample score

7 – 20Needs strengthening

21 – 33Developing

34 – 35Strong

A score of 23 falls in the Developing range, suggesting generally adequate planning skills with room to build more consistent foresight and structured follow-through.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Team leads and managers

41%OF USERS

They use it to gauge how well they stay ahead of pressure, prevent crises, and keep teams effective during change.

Psychologists and coaches

34%OF USERS

They take it to assess proactive coping resources in themselves or clients and to guide targeted skills development.

HR and people partners

25%OF USERS

They use it to understand employees' readiness to handle stress proactively and to shape training or support plans.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

Understanding Your Own LimitationsUYOL

You?

Average17

Typical rangeTypical13.4 – 20.6

Possible5 – 25

Social SupportSS

You?

Average13.2

Typical rangeTypical10.5 – 15.8

Possible4 – 20

Problem ForecastingPF

You?

Average21.6

Typical rangeTypical18.1 – 25.2

Possible6 – 30

Situation analysisSa

You?

Average19.3

Typical rangeTypical15.4 – 23.2

Possible7 – 35

PlanningP

You?

Average21.3

Typical rangeTypical17.5 – 25

Possible7 – 35

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Read each statement and evaluate your ability to cope with a difficult situation that may occur in the future. Indicate the extent to which this ability applies by selecting the appropriate response.

- Not developed
- Hardly developed
- Weakly developed
- More or less developed
- Fully developed
- Not developed
- Hardly developed
- Poorly developed
- More or less developed
- Fully developed
- Not developed
- Hardly developed
- Poorly developed
- More or less developed
- Fully developed

These are 3 of the 21 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC) Test - Description and methodology of the test

proactivity

coping behavior

People who want to understand how they prepare for demands, setbacks, and future goals can use this structured self-reflection. The Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC) Test organizes responses into a profile of analytical, anticipatory, planning, self-appraisal, and support-seeking tendencies. As a proactive coping assessment, it offers a focused way to notice strengths and areas that may deserve deliberate practice without reducing coping to one overall label.

What This Assessment Explores

Items assess judgment, self-appraisal, problem solving, persistence, and help seeking. This coping skills questionnaire gives a profile, not a verdict. Its five dimensions are:

Situation Analysis (7-35) measures analysis of circumstances and solutions under stress: Limited analysis (7-22); Adequate analysis (23-33); Strong analysis (34-35).
Awareness of Personal Limitations (5-25) measures self-criticism and resource matching: Needs more realism (5-15); Generally realistic (16-23); Highly resource-aware (24-25).
Social Support (4-20) measures seeking help and evaluating feedback: Limited support seeking (4-11); Adequate support seeking (12-18); Strong support seeking (19-20).
Problem Anticipation (6-30) measures early detection, obstacle anticipation, perceptiveness, and intuition: Lower forecasting (6-19); Developing forecasting (20-28); Strong forecasting (29-30).
Planning (7-35) measures goals, prospects, and plan implementation: Needs strengthening (7-20); Developing (21-33); Strong (34-35).

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each item asks the respondent to rate an ability on five ordered levels, from not developed to fully developed. Topics include anticipation, criticism, advice, alternative solutions, persistence, goal-outcome comparison, and learning from outcomes. Responses are grouped by dimension and read through the displayed ranges and bands, not as an overall diagnosis. These groupings connect forecasts, resource awareness, problem solving, goal setting, implementation, and interpersonal help seeking.

The published UPCC psychometric study examines the instrument's measurement properties, while a post-stroke UPCC study and a Russian-language adaptation examine its use in additional contexts. This online administration is distinct from those studies: it groups answers into the five displayed dimensions and presents a descriptive self-reflection profile.

Proactive coping theory describes proactive coping as self-regulation that anticipates demands and mobilizes resources, explaining the combination of planning, appraisal, and support seeking. This proactive coping skills profile is descriptive self-reflection: current stress, self-awareness, memory, and the wish to appear capable can shape answers, so results should be read in context rather than as fixed traits.

Author: Charles S. Carver, Erica S. Frydenberg

Literature:

Bekhter, A. A. (2025). Primary adaptation of the Russian-language version of the Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale. Experimental Psychology (Russia), 18(2), 187-205. 10.17759/exppsy.2025180211
Bode, C., Thoolen, B., & de Ridder, D. T. D. (2008). Measuring proactive coping: Psychometric characteristics of the Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale (UPCC). Psychologie & Gezondheid, 36(2), 81-91. 10.1007/BF03077476
Tielemans, N. S., Visser-Meily, J. M., Schepers, V. P., Post, M. W., & van Heugten, C. M. (2014). Proactive coping poststroke: Psychometric properties of the Utrecht Proactive Coping Competence Scale. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 95(4), 670-675. 10.1016/j.apmr.2013.11.010
Aspinwall, L. G., & Taylor, S. E. (1997). A stitch in time: Self-regulation and proactive coping. Psychological Bulletin, 121(3), 417-436. 10.1037/0033-2909.121.3.417

Updated: 2025-10-02