Emotion Regulation, Coping, and Executive Functioning in Risk for Depression: An Integrative Approach

Abstract

The current study analyzes the relationship between executive functioning, emotion regulation, and patterns of coping strategies in older adolescents and young adults. Results from this study indicate that although there is an association between cognitive reappraisal and secondary control coping, secondary control coping is more strongly related to depressive symptoms. The relationship between coping and working memory also suggests that the assessment of coping may offer a more comprehensive representation of the processes underlying the risk for depression. These findings suggest that the assessment of secondary control coping may provide a more sensitive index of the role of working memory in relation to depressive symptoms and may be superior for the assessment of potential mediators of cognitive behavioral interventions for depression.