BIS and cognitive appraisals in predicting coping strategies

• Cognitive appraisals mediated the relationship between BIS and emotion coping.
• Cognitive appraisals mediated the relationship between BIS and avoidance coping.
• Cognitive appraisals do not mediate relationships between BAS and three coping forms.
• Personality variables and cognitive factors influence the use of coping behaviors.
• Cognitive behavioral strategies may directly impact the stress and coping process.

Previous research has indicated that the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) is associated with coping, appraisals, and a variety of thoughts and behaviors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of personality variables, such as BIS, and cognitive appraisals in the coping process. This study evaluated young adults’ self-reported use of emotion- and avoidance-focused coping strategies when faced with stress, as well as their cognitive appraisals of the stress. It was hypothesized that cognitive appraisals would mediate the relationship between the BIS and emotion- and avoidance-focused coping forms. Undergraduate psychology students (n = 242) completed a battery of questionnaires assessing BIS, cognitive appraisals, and coping behaviors. Consistent with our hypotheses, bootstrapping mediation analyses indicated that cognitive appraisals of stress mediated the relationship between BIS and emotion- and avoidance-focused coping strategies. These results provide support for the role of BIS in influencing coping behaviors through cognition.