Spiraling Out of Control: Stress Generation and Subsequent Rumination Mediate the Link Between Poorer Cognitive Control and Internalizing Psychopathology

Abstract

Poor cognitive control is associated with nearly every mental disorder and has been proposed as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology, including depression and anxiety. What specific mechanisms might cause individuals with poor cognitive control to experience higher levels of psychopathology? The current research tests a new process model linking poor cognitive control to depression and anxiety symptoms via increased dependent stress (i.e., self-generated stressors) and subsequent rumination. This model was supported across two studies in youth during the key period for emergence of internalizing psychopathology. Study 1 provides longitudinal evidence for prospective prediction of change in symptoms. Study 2 confirms this model using well-established executive function tasks in a cross-sectional study. These findings have potential implications for understanding why cognitive control impairments may be broadly associated with psychopathology and suggest that interventions to prevent stress generation might be effective in preventing negative consequences of poor cognitive control.