Mental health in challenging situations: how experienced agency affects coping and mental distress

Mental health is becoming increasingly important in clinical settings and everyday situations alike. Here we address the role of experienced agency for mental health, i.e., the role of the experience of being in control and author of one's own actions and their consequences. The present study investigates how experience of agency is linked to mental health and coping in the face of personal and global challenges. Our data challenge a simple model of direct positive effects of agency experience for mental health for specific, challenging situations. Rather, they point toward a crucial impact of perceived responsibility that may influence when, in such situations, experiences of control affect mental health in a positive or negative manner. Interestingly, our data still confirm a generally positive association between trait assumptions of experienced agency and mental health. Stronger agency experience was further associated with more frequent use of control-related coping strategies. Exploratory analyses revealed a discrepancy between the actual use and the perceived effectiveness of coping strategies-a discrepancy that decreased with higher levels of experienced agency. Overall, the results highlight a close relationship between agency experience, mental health, and coping, while also pointing toward more complex mechanisms in specific challenging contexts. Interventions specifically aimed at strengthening agency experience may therefore represent a promising avenue for improving mental health especially when they employ measures to target the critical role of perceived responsibility.