Behavioral anger coping strategies are associated with task switching deficits in patients with Bipolar I Affective Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

Objectives: The present study was designed to assess: (i) behavioral anger response and task switching in patients with bipolar I affective disorder (BP-D), major depressive disorder (MD-D) and healthy control (HC) individuals; (ii) differences between patients with BP-D, MD-D and HC on behavioral anger coping strategies; and (iii) association between behavioral anger coping strategies and task switching. Design: Experimental research design Setting: Bahawal Victoria Hospital, Civil Hospital and Nishter Hospital, Pakistan Subjects: Fifty patients with BP-D, fifty patients with MD-D, and fifty healthy individuals (from April 2016 until February 2017) Intervention: In a single testing session, participants completed emotion-word task switching experiment. Main outcome measure: Following the testing session, they were administered behavioral anger response questionnaire. Results: Patients with BP-D showed higher task switching deficits as compared to MD-D patients and HC (BP-D: 2301.60 vs. MD-D: 1085.22 vs. HC: 681.68 ms, p < 0.001). Patients with BP-D used extreme strategies (direct anger out, rumination and avoidance) more frequently and adaptive strategies (diffusion, assertion and social support seeking) less frequently than patients with MD-D. In contrast, HC used adaptive strategies more frequently and extreme strategies less often. Adaptive coping strategies were inversely correlated with task switching deficits, whereas extreme coping strategies were positively correlated with task switching deficits. Conclusions: Behavioral anger coping strategies are a significant marker of task switching deficits in patients with BP-D and MD-D.