Executive Functioning and Adaptive Coping in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Middle-aged individuals encounter multiple environmental demands to which they must develop efficient solutions, thus making the study of executive functions and coping strategies within this age group important. This study evaluated the relationship between the planning and flexible organization of executive function with adaptive coping strategies (ACS) in adults aged 43 to 52 years old. The study included 104 participants, including 52 men and 52 women, with no history of neurological or psychiatric illnesses, diabetes, or hypertension. The participants engaged in the Tower of London^DX (TOL^DX) test, the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test (WCST), and the Coping Strategies Inventory. A relationship was observed between the percentage of errors and conceptual-level responses (WCST) and the Problem Solving ACS. In a separate analysis performed on the men, a negative relationship was discovered between the WCST and the Emotional Expression ACS. In the female group, the dimensions of the WCST and the TOL^DX were associated with the ACS Emotional Expression and Problem-Solving subscales and the maladaptive coping strategy Social Withdrawal subscale. The relationship between executive functioning and the ACS is multidimensional, complex, and different between men and women. This study adds a neuropsychological characterization of the relationship between executive functions and ACS with ecological validity. The study confirms a relationship between the flexible organization of executive function and the Problem-Solving ACS.

Key words:

• cognitive ability
• coping strategies
• ecological validity
• flexible organization
• middle adulthood