Does experiential avoidance mediate the effects of maladaptive coping styles on psychopathology and mental health?

Fledderus et al. (2010) asked adults with mild to moderate distress to fill out questionnaires.

They wanted to know if experiential avoidance sits between passive coping and poor mental health.

Passive coping means waiting for problems to fix themselves. Experiential avoidance means trying not to feel upsetting thoughts or feelings.

The team found that experiential avoidance explains why passive coping leads to more anxiety and depression.

When people use both passive coping and high avoidance, their emotional well-being drops.

Jardin et al. (2016) saw a similar chain: acculturative stress raised sexual compulsivity, which then raised risky sex.

Both papers show a middle-step process that turns life stress into behavior or mood problems.

Vereenooghe et al. (2013) reviewed therapy for adults with intellectual disabilities. They also say targeting process variables like avoidance matters, backing the same idea in a different group.

Jaffe et al. (2002) found that only certain therapy compliance pieces predict OCD improvement. Their focus on key process steps echoes Martine’s call to aim at avoidance, not just coping style.

You can add brief acceptance exercises to any anxiety or depression case. Ask clients to notice, not fight, unwanted thoughts. Track if their avoidance drops and mood lifts across sessions.