(PS5-80) Social Support, Coping, and Internalizing Distress in Late Adolescents: A Mediation Model of Risk and Resilience

During adolescence, youth increasingly experience risks that may contribute to psychopathology (e.g., anxiety and depression) (Rapee et al., 2019).  Despite the growing literature on resilience and its significance in symptoms of depression, little is known about the factors that may be contributing to resilience in individuals (Min et al., 2013). Previous studies have found that how an individual copes is important in the context of psychological adjustment for children and adolescents who have been previously exposed to stress (Compas et al., 2001; Evans et al., 2015). For instance, avoidance coping may relieve short-term stress, however the frequency of utilizing this coping strategy can lead to a development of problem behaviors, including depression (Compas et al., 2001; Herres and Ohannessian, 2015). Moreover, studies have shown that individuals with multiple coping styles, including social functioning and having social support perceived themselves to be more resilient (Haglund et al., 2007). Taken together, it is important to examine interpersonal factors (e.g. social support) and intrapersonal factors (e.g., avoidant coping style) to determine whether these variables predict levels of resilience and psychological distress in adolescents. Therefore, the present study investigated whether social support and avoidant coping style mediated the relationship between resilience and depressive symptoms. The sample included 182 college students (107 female, 75 male, Mage = 19.24 years, 87.4% White). Participants completed a series of self-report measures to assess their perceived levels of social support, coping strategies, levels of resilience, and depressive symptoms. PROCESS procedure for SPSS Version 4.2 was utilized to conduct a serial mediation model (Hayes, 2022). The overall model accounted for 36.5% of the variance of depression (p < .001). There was a significant total indirect effect between resilience and depression (β = -6.10, p < .001). Additionally, the effect between resilience and avoidant coping was significant (β = -.28, p < .001). The direct effect of resilience to social support was not significant (β = .07, p = .38). Similarly, the direct effect of social support on avoidant coping was not significant (β = -.13, p = .08). Notably, the direct effect between resilience and avoidant coping was significant (β = -.28, p < .001). In addition, avoidant coping (β = .43, p < .001) independently mediated the resilience-depression relationship. Overall, this model demonstrates a relationship from higher perceived levels of resilience to lower level of avoidant coping, which contributes to lower levels of depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that targeting avoidant coping in manualized treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can be effective in helping to build resilience in late adolescents and ameliorate symptoms of depression. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the roles various coping strategies and other potential protective factors have in predicting the relationship between resilience and depression.