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Toward an assessment of escape/avoidance coping in depression
Amanda M Haskell1, Peter C Britton2, Richard J Servatius3
1Department of Veterans Affairs, Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, USA.
Behavioural Brain Research
|November 19, 2019
Summary
Anxiety and major depressive disorder (MDD) may show distinct escape and avoidance behaviors. Current coping strategies group these, potentially masking key differences in behavioral profiles.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral psychology
- Clinical psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Animal behavior models suggest anxiety and major depressive disorder (MDD) differ in escape/avoidance.
- Existing literature on coping strategies broadly categorizes escape behaviors under 'avoidant coping'.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate distinct behavioral profiles of escape and avoidance coping in anxiety and depression.
- To address the limitations of current conceptual frameworks that group escape and avoidance behaviors together.
Main Methods:
- Review of animal behavior models.
- Analysis of existing literature on coping strategies.
- Theoretical argument for distinguishing escape and avoidance behaviors.
Main Results:
- Current coping literature fails to differentiate between escape and avoidance behaviors.
- This lack of distinction may obscure significant differences in behavioral profiles between anxiety and MDD.
Conclusions:
- Distinguishing between escape and avoidance coping is crucial for understanding anxiety and depression.
- Future research should differentiate these behaviors to reveal distinct profiles and improve therapeutic strategies.
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