The role of coping style in the relationship between stressful life events and depressive symptoms in young adults
Introduction: Identifying potential mechanisms underpinning the association between stressful life events and depression is key to developing targeted public health interventions. To cope with stressful experiences, individuals adopt coping styles which are differentially associated with depressive symptoms. However, no study has assessed whether coping style mediates and/or moderates this association. Objectives: To examine each of problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidant coping style as a mediator and/or moderator of the association between stressful life events and depressive symptoms in young adults. Methods: The Nicotine Dependence in Teens (NDIT) is a longitudinal study including 1294 participants recruited in grade 7 from 10 high schools in Montreal Quebec between 1999–2000. The current analysis uses data (n = 782) from self-report questionnaires collected post-high school between 2011–2012. Using VanderWeele’s four-way decomposition approach, the total effect of stressful life events on depressive symptoms was decomposed into components representing moderation only, mediation only, mediated interaction and neither mediation nor moderation by each coping style. Results: We observed moderation by problem-focused coping (β ̂(95%CI)=-1.51(-2.22, -1.06)) and mediation (0.15(0.05, 0.17)) and moderation (1.16(1.05, 1.68) by emotion-focused coping.  An avoidant coping style neither mediated nor moderated this association. Thus, individuals reporting more problem-focused coping experienced fewer depressive symptoms when exposed to more stressful life events; those reporting more emotion-focused coping experienced more depressive symptoms. Conclusion: These results suggest that preventive interventions for depression in young adults should include components to reinforce problem-focused coping strategies and should minimize negative emotion-focused coping strategies.
Stressful life events Coping style Depression Young adults Mediation analysis