Toward an assessment of escape/avoidance coping in depression

Amanda M Haskell; Peter C Britton; Richard J Servatius

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112363

Toward an assessment of escape/avoidance coping in depression

Behav Brain Res. 2020 Mar 2:381:112363. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112363. Epub 2019 Nov 15.

Authors

Amanda M Haskell¹, Peter C Britton², Richard J Servatius³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterans Affairs, Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, USA.
² Center of Excellence (CoE) for Suicide Prevention, Finger Lakes VA Health Care System, USA; University of Rochester Medical Center, USA.
³ Department of Veterans Affairs, Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA. Electronic address: Richard.servatius@va.gov.

PMID: 31739002
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112363

Abstract

Models of animal behavior suggest that anxiety and major depressive disorder (MDD) may be characterized by different profiles of escape and avoidance behavior. However, the literature on coping strategies fails to distinguish between avoidance and escape coping patterns, instead grouping escape behaviors into the larger category of avoidant coping. We argue that investigating both escape and avoidance coping behavior in those with anxiety and depression may reveal distinct behavioral profiles, whereas the current conceptual framework has failed to find significant differences coping style.

Keywords: Anxiety; Avoidance; Coping; Escape; Major depressive disorder.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological / physiology*
Animals
Anxiety / psychology
Anxiety Disorders / psychology*
Avoidance Learning / physiology*
Behavior, Animal
Depression / psychology
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology*
Disease Models, Animal
Escape Reaction / physiology*
Humans