Executive function moderates the relation between coping and depressive symptoms

Abstract

Background and Objectives Identifying risk factors early in the course of depression has important implications for prevention, given that the likelihood of recurrence increases with each successive episode. Design This study examined relations among coping, executive functioning, and depressive symptom trajectories in a sample of remitted-depressed (n = 32) and never-depressed (n = 36) young adults (ages 18 to 31). Methods Participants completed a clinical interview, a measure of coping, and tasks assessing two components of executive function -- inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Participants were re-assessed regarding the timing and severity of depressive symptoms that had occurred during the interval period (mean = 35.16 weeks, SD = 9.03). Results Among never-depressed individuals, less primary control coping (e.g., problem-solving) and greater disengagement coping (e.g., avoidance) predicted increases in depressive symptoms. Greater secondary control coping (e.g., acceptance) predicted decreases in depressive symptoms and was unrelated to depression history. Higher inhibition scores predicted less increase in depressive symptoms for individuals reporting less primary control coping or more disengagement coping. Higher cognitive flexibility scores predicted less increase in depressive symptoms among individuals reporting less secondary control coping. Conclusions Interventions aiming to enhance either coping strategies or executive functions may reduce risk for depression recurrence.

Differences in Coping Strategies Between Young and Older Adults: The Role of Executive Functions

“…In our study sample, scores on the CES-D were associated with avoidant coping strategies, and, more specifically, the participants with lower scores on the CES-D showed less use of avoidance strategies. In this vein, the findings of Morris et al. (2015) suggest that lower inhibitory capacity and less use of primary control coping 1 were associated with lower depressive symptoms at baseline but predicted increases in depressive symptoms at follow-up.…”

“…According to Gotlib and Joorman (2010), inhibitory deficits might increase the risk of depression, as they reinforce negative affectivity (e.g., incapacity to disengage from negative stimuli or rumination). However, results in this regard are not conclusive because, although it has been suggested that inhibitory control might serve as a protective factor against depression, it has also been found that higher primary control and lower inhibition scores were not associated with increments in depression, that is, primary strategies such as PS could compensate for inhibitory deficits (Morris et al., 2015). WM has also been found to be related to secondary control coping 2 (Andreotti et al., 2013).…”

“…EFs have been identified as mechanisms involved in successful adaptation to stress (Compas, 2006), and the interrelation between coping strategies and EFs across the life span is accepted (e.g., Andreotti et al., 2013; Campbell et al., 2009; Connor-Smith et al., 2000; Evans, Kouros, Samanez-Larkin, & Garber, 2015; Fletcher et al., 2011; Gotlib & Joorman, 2010; Schmeichel & Tang, 2015). This relation has been analyzed in different studies, for example, in samples of children and adolescents with depressive symptoms (Evans et al., 2015; Morris, Evans, Rao, & Garber, 2015), in adult patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms after acquired brain injury (Gregório et al., 2015), in persons with multiple sclerosis (Grech et al., 2016), or in returning war veterans (Martindale et al., 2016). However, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to compare executive functioning (inhibition and WM tasks), short-term memory, and adoption of coping strategies (avoidance vs. approach) in a sample of young and older adults without prior diagnosis of depression and with normal cognitive function.…”

Inflexibility as a Vulnerability to Depression: A Systematic Qualitative Review

“…The literature on shifting as a prospective predictor of depression is similarly sparse. Poorer shifting on a variety of tasks predicted the first onset of major depressive episodes among adolescents (Stange et al., ), a greater likelihood of depressive relapse (Schmid & Hammar, ), better response to psychotherapy for depression (Beaudreau et al., ), and fewer future symptoms of depression only in the context of better coping (Morris et al., ), supporting the hypothesis that individual differences in shifting could confer vulnerability to depression. In contrast, other studies of nonclinical samples have found that perseverative costs on the WCST were not associated with prospective symptoms of depression (Evans et al., 2016; Han et al., ).…”

Examining the Relations Among Emerging Adult Coping, Executive Function, and Anxiety

“…And, specific dimensions of EF such as cognitive rigidity (the opposite of cognitive flexibility) have been shown to be negatively related to both anxiety and depression (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010; Meiran, Diamond, Toder, & Nemets, 2011; Schultz & Searleman, 2002). Likewise, research studies have found that working memory (Andreotti et al, 2013), attentional control (Hocking et al, 2011), and inhibitory control (Morris et al, 2015) are significantly associated with anxiety and depression.…”