| The causal relationship between life stress and depression onset is well documented, but little is known about risk factors that influence risks of depression recurrence or severity. Recent theory has suggested the possibility that avoidance coping responses may potentiate the experience of life stress, as avoidance coping is generally ineffective in meeting the long-term goal of stress reduction. Thus, its utilization may increase the overall impact of stress, which in turn may contribute to depression recurrence and severity. The current study examined the hypothesis that depression severity may be linked to avoidance coping styles. A cross-sectional, correlational design using regression analysis was utilized to determine whether avoidance coping responses mediate or moderate the relationship between life stress and severity of depression. Findings indicate that the relationship between life stress and depression severity is mediated by avoidance coping. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as recommendations for future research efforts to better understand the functional importance of avoidance coping in exacerbating and maintaining depressive symptoms. Finally, the current study utilized multiple mediational models to test study hypotheses. Minimal differences were found among them in observed outcomes despite a small sample size, but the bootstrapping approach provided more useful information about the mediated effect than two commonly used methods of mediation testing. |
