Experiential Avoidance

What in the world is experiential avoidance? The attempt to suppress any unwanted internal experiences, such as emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations is termed experiential avoidance (EA). Researchers and psychologist are currently studying the effects of experiential avoidance. Martine Fledderus, Ernst T. Bohlmeijer, and Marcel E. Pieterse have come together to experiment whether experiential avoidance mediates the relationship between maladaptive
coping styles and psychopathology and mental health. This essay will explain the important aspects of Fledderus, Bohlmeijer, and Pieterse’s study and conclusion from their article, “Does Experiential Avoidance Mediate the Effects of Maladaptive Coping Styles on Psychopathology and Mental Health?” posted in Behavior Modification and the importance of this information to young adults.

Fledderus, Bohlmeijer, and Pieterse give their readers some introductory information that is essential to this particular study and research. They tell of different previous studies that have been conducted over the years and explain that various findings have been reported. Experiential avoidance has been related to certain coping styles which have also been found to be related
to negative psychological outcomes in some experiments and related to positive psychological outcomes in others. It is important to note, as the authors have, that “experiential avoidance is more focused on the function and context of behavior, whereas coping styles are focused on the frequency and content of behavior” (Fledderus). In this study, however, the authors examine three coping styles: palliative, avoidance, and passive coping. Palliative coping is known as seeking distraction or good company to associate with on a regular basis. Avoidance coping is shunning situations or problems and “letting go” (Fledderus). Passive coping is known as being besieged by troubles, such as ruminating about the past (Fledderus). Let’s us examine how the authors used these three coping styles in determining whether or not EA mediates their effects on mental health and psychopathology?

Ninety three people were subjects in this experiment, mostly Dutch women, of eighteen years or older with mild to moderate depression or anxiety symptoms. These ninety three were participants who previously signed up for a group intervention, developed by the University of Twente, based on commitment and acceptance therapy (Fledderus). This study is measured by many forms, starting with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II). AAQ-II is a 10-item measure of EA. The AAQ-II assesses on a 7-point like-type scale ranging from 1 = never true to 7 = always true that the subject’s unwillingness to be in contact with negative private events, the need to control these events, and the effect of controlling their negative private experiences on their lives (Fledderus). The higher the total end score, the higher acceptance and therefore lower experiential avoidance. This study was also measured by the Utrecht coping list (UCL). The UCL measures the three different coping styles people use in various unpleasant situations or problems (Fledderus). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is a 20-item questionnaire that measures depressive symptoms in the general population, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale—Anxiety Subscale (HADS-A) is a 7-item questionnaire that assesses the presence and severity of anxious symptoms were both used as measures. Alcohol and Mental Health Continuum (which measures emotional, social, and psychological well-being) were also added to the study to use as measures.

The results indicate that acceptance scores are lower (M = 36.76, SD = 10.07) than was found in a general Dutch population (M = 52.03, SD = 9.30), which means the subjects score high on EA (Fledderus). Now regarding the coping styles, the participants scored average on the palliative coping, high on avoidance coping, and very high on passive coping, in comparison with a random sample of the Dutch population. Of the participants, 72.0% scored above the cut-off score of anxiety and 78.5% of the participants scored above the cut-off score for depressive syndromes (Fledderus). For those participants whose alcohol consumption is considerably unsafe, they scored lower in emotional, social, and psychological well-being compared to general Dutch population. What does all this information translate to? Only one of the three coping styles, passive coping, was (strongly) correlated with experiential avoidance. This indicates that people with high levels of EA tend to become easily beleaguered or overwhelmed by their problems and horrible situations, agonize about the past, feel incapable of doing something, or flee into an unrealistic world. “Both passive coping and EA showed a moderately strong relationship with increased depression and anxiety, which corroborates the results of earlier studies” (Fledderus).

This study and the information it reveals is vitally important to everyone, but especially young adults. Teenagers and young adults are prone to hide emotions and bury them away, thinking they can start new. This is a good outlook to have, to move on with our lives after a tragic event or whatnot, however, it is not good suppress feelings that will only come back to cause more damage in the future. These authors have successfully proven this point, anxiety and depression, among other problems, can develop and we must be extra cautious.


http://bmo.sagepub.com/content/34/6/503.full.pdf+html
Fledderus.Behavior Modification. Nov. 2010