Not Feeling It: Modifiable Correlates of Anhedonia

Anhedonia denotes a reduced capacity of experiencing pleasure, which is often reported by individuals with psychiatric disorders such as depression and polysubstance use disorders. Since anhedonia is a critical factor influencing the well-being of psychiatric and general populations, it is important to investigate predictors of anhedonia.

We conducted a survey in N = 300 young adults aged 18 to 30 (M = 25.45, SD = 3.66). As predictors of anhedonia, we examined polysubstance use, problems with social media use, coping styles, and mindfulness. We controlled for age, gender, education, and the frequency of leisure activities.

Together, the predictors explained 20% of the variance in anhedonia. We found a positive association of polysubstance use with anhedonia, indicating that the more substances individuals consumed, the more anhedonia they reported. Problems with social media were not significantly related to anhedonia. Concerning coping styles, individuals with a more problem-focused coping style (e.g., planning) reported significantly lower levels of anhedonia, whereas emotion-focused coping (e.g., seeking social support) was unrelated to anhedonia. Mindfulness negatively correlated with anhedonia.

The present study adds to research on behavioral and dispositional predictors of anhedonia and underlines the positive impact of mindfulness and problem-focused coping on anhedonia.