Coping and experiential avoidance: Unique or overlapping constructs?

► The construct of coping is related but not identical to experiential avoidance. ► EA, though highly related to coping, adds small but significant variance to the prediction of psychological outcomes. ► The higher people are in experiential avoidance, the more they tend to utilize emotion-focused and avoidant types of coping. ► Sex differences found on perceived stress and psychological Qof L were not moderated by EA. ► Findings add to the conceptualization of EA as a potentially toxic self-regulatory mechanism implicated in the development and maintenance of psychopathology.