Interaction of cognitive avoidance coping and stress in predicting depression/anxiety

Abstract

This study investigated (1) the moderating effects of gender and cognitive avoidance coping on the negative life events–depressive/anxious symptoms relationship, and (2) the validity of the cognitive avoidance coping construct. One hundred seventy-nine men and women completed the Coping Responses Inventory (CRI), Negative Life Events Questionnaire, and Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories at Time 1 and, 3 weeks later, at Time 2. A confirmatory factor analysis of the four CRI Avoidant Coping subscales revealed that a two-factor model, comprising Cognitive and Behavioral Avoidance Coping, was superior to the one-factor model composed of Avoidant Coping. Multiple regression analyses revealed that high negative life event scores were predictive of significant increases in symptoms among females who endorsed greater use of cognitive avoidance coping, but not among males. Behavioral avoidance coping was unrelated to changes in depressive and anxious symptoms.