Perceived control and long-term depression and anxiety: An 18-year longitudinal mediation study of coping

Perceived control over daily stressors is a key aspect of adaptive functioning and is closely linked to the development and maintenance of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Different coping patterns may serve as proxy mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the longitudinal mediating role of coping strategies in the association between perceived control and MDD and GAD severity 18 years later.

We analyzed three-wave data from 3294 participants in the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study, with waves spaced approximately nine years apart. Longitudinal structural equation modeling examined whether T2 coping strategies-approach coping and avoidance coping-mediated the relationship between T1 perceived control (mastery and constraints) and T3 MDD and GAD symptoms. Each model controlled for baseline symptoms of the disorder severity outcome.

Avoidance coping, but not approach coping, significantly mediated the association between constraint and MDD severity (d = 0.042; mediated effect = 29.88%). Neither approach nor avoidance coping mediated the mastery → MDD severity pathway. For GAD symptoms, both approach and avoidance coping mediated the constraint → GAD severity pathway (d = 0.014-0.057; mediated effect = 10.75-42.29%). Approach coping fully mediated the mastery → GAD severity pathway (d = -0.019), whereas avoidance coping did not.

Perceived constraints contribute to MDD and GAD symptoms primarily via avoidance coping, whereas approach coping specifically links both constraints and mastery to GAD symptoms. These disorder-specific patterns highlight the importance of tailoring prevention strategies for MDD and GAD.