Published online Sep 19, 2021. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v11.i9.619
Peer-review started: March 11, 2021
First decision: July 15, 2021
Revised: July 25, 2021
Accepted: August 18, 2021
Article in press: August, 18, 2021
Published online: September 19, 2021
Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) frequently struggle with the recurrence of affective symptoms. However, the interplay between coping mechanism and positive mood state remains under-researched.
To add to the current knowledge about the role of coping in emotion regulation in people with BD.
The main objective was to explore the associations between the behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity level, coping flexibility, and mood states among people with BD after they encounter BAS-activating life events.
Using a cross-sectional study design, 90 participants with BD were presented with four BAS-activating life event scenarios and assessed with regard to their BAS trait sensitivity, coping flexibility, and mood states. A hierarchical clustering method was used to identify different groups with different styles of coping. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted in order to examine the mediating and moderating roles of different components of coping on mood states.
A three-cluster solution was found to best fit the present data set. The findings showed that a low mass of coping combined with low BAS sensitivity level protects people with BD from detrimentally accentuating mood states when they encounter BAS-activating life events. Moreover, coping flexibility is demonstrated to mediate and moderate the relationships between BAS sensitivity level and mood states. Specifically, subduing the perceived controllability and reducing the use of behavioral-activation/emotion-amplifying coping strategies could help buffer the effect of positive affect.
The judicious use of coping in emotion regulation for people with BD when encountering BAS-activating life events was indicated.
The findings of this study have practical implications for the improvement of stress management programs. Theoretically, this study helps integrate the concept of coping flexibility into the BAS dysregulation theory as it applies to mental illness.