In addition to facilitating goal-directed behaviors, cognitive control and flexibility have been implicated in emotion regulation, and disturbances of these abilities are present in mood and anxiety disorders.
In the context of stressful experiences, the reported studies examined processes related to cognitive control and flexibility, emotional regulation and depressive symptoms. Preliminary analyses suggested a stable and reliable two-factor structure, that of cognitive control over emotion, and appraisal and coping flexibility.
Scores on the CCFQ were strongly associated with greater depressive symptoms, even after controlling for other measures that had been taken to reflect cognitive control and in flexibility e. Perceptions of threat and uncontrollability, in turn, partially accounted for the association between CCFQ subscale scores and depressive symptoms. The relation between lower CCFQ scores and heightened depressive symptoms was also partially accounted for by less frequent engagement in problem-focused coping and more use of emotion-focused methods.
The present research points to the CCFQ as a useful self-report tool to identify ways through which cognitive control and flexibility might be manifested in stressful situations, and how reductions in flexibility might be accompanied by elevated symptoms of depression.
Cognitive control and cognitive flexibility play a fundamental role in the ability to adapt to continuously changing environments and have been associated with various goal-oriented behaviors, including creativity, problem-solving, multi-tasking, and decision-making Rolls, ; Ionescu, ; Dajani and Uddin, Cognitive control, and the processes underlying this ability executive functions have also been implicated in self- and emotional-regulation, as well as mental health outcomes Gotlib and Joormann, ; Hofmann et al.
