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Cognitive coping in anxiety-disordered adolescents
Jeroen S Legerstee1, Nadia Garnefski, Frank C Verhulst
1Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical University Centre Rotterdam/Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Journal of Adolescence
|June 18, 2010
Summary
Anxiety-disordered adolescents use more cognitive coping strategies like rumination and self-blame than non-anxious peers. These strategies are key targets for adolescent mental health treatment.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Adolescent Psychiatry
Background:
- Cognitive coping strategies play a crucial role in adolescent mental health.
- Understanding differences in these strategies between anxious and non-anxious youth is vital for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in cognitive coping strategies between adolescents with anxiety disorders and non-anxious adolescents.
- To examine the influence of gender and specific anxiety diagnoses on these coping mechanisms.
Main Methods:
- A clinical sample of 159 anxiety-disordered adolescents and a community sample of 370 non-anxious adolescents (aged 12-16) were assessed.
- Nine cognitive coping strategies were evaluated using standardized measures.
- Statistical analyses were performed to compare groups and examine interaction effects.
Main Results:
- Anxiety-disordered adolescents exhibited significantly higher scores across most cognitive coping strategies compared to non-anxious adolescents.
- Rumination, self-blame, and catastrophizing were the most significant predictors of variance in coping strategy use.
- Gender did not significantly moderate the observed differences.
- Within the anxiety-disordered group, generalized anxiety disorder was associated with higher rumination scores compared to social phobia.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive coping strategies, particularly rumination, self-blame, and catastrophizing, are significantly elevated in adolescents with anxiety disorders.
- These findings underscore the importance of cognitive coping as a target for psychological assessment and therapeutic interventions in adolescent anxiety.
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