Coping as a mediator between locus of control, competence beliefs, and mental health: A systematic review and structural equation modelling meta-analysis

Nicola Groth; Nina Schnyder; Michael Kaess; Andjela Markovic; Liz Rietschel; Susann Moser; Chantal Michel; Frauke Schultze-Lutter; Stefanie J Schmidt

doi:10.1016/j.brat.2019.103442

Coping as a mediator between locus of control, competence beliefs, and mental health: A systematic review and structural equation modelling meta-analysis

Behav Res Ther. 2019 Oct:121:103442. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103442. Epub 2019 Jul 23.

Authors

Nicola Groth¹, Nina Schnyder², Michael Kaess³, Andjela Markovic⁴, Liz Rietschel⁵, Susann Moser⁶, Chantal Michel⁷, Frauke Schultze-Lutter⁸, Stefanie J Schmidt⁹

Affiliations

¹ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland. Electronic address: nicola.groth@upd.ch.
² University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland. Electronic address: n.schnyder@uq.edu.au.
³ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Section for Translational Psychobiology in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, Blumenstraße 8, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: michael.kaess@upd.ch.
⁴ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland. Electronic address: andjela.markovic@upd.unibe.ch.
⁵ SRH University Heidelberg, Academy for Psychotherapy, Heidelberg, Germany, Maaßstrasse 32/1, 69123 Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: liz.rietschel@googlemail.com.
⁶ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland. Electronic address: susann.m.ser@gmail.com.
⁷ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Developmental Clinical Psychology Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, 40, Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland. Electronic address: chantal.michel@upd.unibe.ch.
⁸ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, Bergische Landstraße 2, 40629 Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: Frauke.Schultze-Lutter@lvr.de.
⁹ University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Haus A, Bolligenstrasse 111, 3000 Bern 60, Switzerland; Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. Electronic address: stefanie.schmidt@psy.unibe.ch.

PMID: 31430689
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2019.103442

Abstract

Objective: This systematic review and two-staged structural equation modelling meta-analysis (TSSEM) aimed to examine whether coping mediates the associations between locus of control, competence beliefs, and mental health in the general population and clinical samples.

Methods: Eligible studies published until May 2017 were identified through systematic searches of PubMED and EMBASE. The review included 19 studies and the meta-analysis 15 studies.

Results: The review supports the assumption that coping mediates the associations between locus of control and competence beliefs, and mental health. TSSEM using a pooled sample of 3986 respondents and 225 cross-sectional effect sizes indicated that maladaptive coping mediates the association between maladaptive locus of control and mental health problems. On the contrary, adaptive coping did not mediate this association and was only significantly associated with competence beliefs and adaptive locus of control but, unexpectedly, not with mental health. Both maladaptive and adaptive locus of control but not competence beliefs had direct links to mental health problems that were independent of coping.

Conclusion: Interventions should not only focus on enhancing adaptive coping as it might be more promising to diminish maladaptive locus of control, which may result in reduced maladaptive coping and, finally, improved mental health.

Keywords: Coping; Locus of control; Mental health; Self-efficacy; Structural equation modelling meta-analysis; Systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological / physiology*
Humans
Internal-External Control*
Mental Health*
Models, Psychological
Self Efficacy*