In bivariate analyses, higher reported primary control coping in the face of stress associated with parental depression was associated with lower reported anxiety and depressive symptoms. In specificity analyses, primary control coping in response to stress due to parental depression was associated with symptoms of depression but not anxiety. Previous studies showed varied evidence for primary control coping as a correlate of mixed anxiety/depression symptoms in offspring of depressed parents (e.g., Fear et al. 2009; Jaser et al. 2005, 2011). Given that primary control coping was found to be a specific correlate of depressive symptoms, this may account for mixed findings across studies using a mixed anxiety/depression measure. Primary control coping reflects strategies that involve taking action to change the stressful situation or one’s emotions associated with the stressful situation. The active component of primary control coping strategies may parallel the process of behavioral activation, which has been supported as an effective treatment for depressive symptoms but not symptoms of anxiety (e.g., Sturmey 2009). Primary control coping also involves the modulation of and controlled expression of emotions, which may be particularly important in coping with the stress associated with parental depression.
