The Impact of Decreased Capacity to Experience Pleasure on Leisure Coping Strategies among Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

ABSTRACT Anhedonia is a key clinical feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) and affects one's capacity to experience pleasure. This study examined the extent to which anhedonia disrupts the use and the effect of leisure coping strategies. A cross-sectional online survey design was used to recruit individuals with MDD (n = 155). Structural equation modeling was performed to test the models of relationships among perceived stress, anhedonia, leisure coping strategies, and depressive symptoms. The results show that a high level of anhedonia was associated with lower utilization and effects of leisure as a coping strategy (β = −.484, p < .01). However, after accounting for the effect of anhedonia, leisure coping strategies still had a significant negative association with depressive symptoms (β = −.179, p < .05). The results highlighted the significant negative impact of anhedonia on leisure coping strategies and supported its effectiveness in the presence of anhedonia.