Coping style in schizophrenia: associations with neurocognitive deficits and personality

It is widely recognized that persons with schizophrenia tend to cope with stress in a relatively avoidant and ineffectual manner. Less is understood, however, about the factors that affect coping style in schizophrenia. To determine the extent to which various neurocognitive deficits and personality dimensions are related to coping style in schizophrenia, measures of visual memory, verbal memory, executive function, neuroticism, and extroversion were correlated with concurrent self-reports of preference for a range of active and avoidant coping strategies. Participants were 71 persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders enrolled in outpatient psychiatric care. Stepwise multiple regressions indicated that neurocognition and personality were independently related to coping style. Specifically, higher levels of various forms of neurocognitive impairment and neuroticism predicted greater reliance on passive avoidant strategies and reduced reliance on active problem solving. Higher levels of extroversion were related to greater social support seeking. Implications for understanding the genesis of psychosocial dysfunction and for the development of rehabilitative interventions are discussed.