Coping with Anxiety: Flexibility as a Predictor of Anxiety Disorders

New research in the Journal of Clinical Psychology shows that psychological inflexibility — the tendency to rigidly avoid distress — predicts lifetime anxiety disorders independently of how severe anxiety is. In two samples (265 adults and 853 undergraduates), each one-point rise on the inflexibility scale nearly triples the odds of reporting at least one anxiety diagnosis, suggesting how we react to anxiety may shape risk as much as the anxiety itself. The findings support flexible coping approaches (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) but are limited by cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported diagnoses, and they highlight demographic factors that may influence diagnosis rates.