More than just aversive: the bridge between the dark triad and depression and coping flexibility, the role of Machiavellianism

Coping flexibility is the ability to abandon an ineffective coping strategy and to implement one more appropriate, known as the processes of abandonment and re-coping, respectively (Caldwell et al., 2013; Kato, 2015a, Kato, 2020). The two lower-order processes are monitored by one higher-order process named meta-coping which evaluates whether further adjustment is required (Kato, 2020). Coping flexibility maintains a key role in mitigating psychopathology, with studies showing that an inverse relationship with PTSD symptoms (Robinson et al., 2022). Depressed individuals, for instance, show less flexibility combines with traits like high neuroticism may increase the risk of depression (Kato, 2016). Given the global prevalence of psychopathology, investigating factors like coping flexibility and personality is essential.