The Role of Implicit Theories in Mental Health and Stress Coping: Focusing on Growth Mindsets About Intelligence, Emotion, Anxiety, and Personality

Abstract

Previous studies on implicit theories have suggested that holding incremental beliefs about the growth potential of a trait can improve mental health, particularly for beliefs about anxiety and emotion. However, these studies did not control for the effects of stressors, which are major antecedents of mental health. They also did not sufficiently examine the relationship between implicit theories and coping strategies. Furthermore, most participants in previous studies were Western and university students. This study examined the effects of implicit theories on mental health and coping strategies in Japan, controlling for amount of stressors. In survey 1 (218 university students) and survey 2 (319 employees), we measured the four types of implicit theories, amount of stressor, trait anxiety, stress response, and coping strategies. We found that 1) the implicit theories of anxiety and emotion were the main predictors of mental health, and 2) the relationship between implicit theories and coping strategies was weak. Finally, the discussion considers the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.