Mental rigidity causes psychological problems
Extensive empirical evidence across various psychological domains demonstrates that mental rigidity, cognitive inflexibility, and experiential avoidance are robustly linked to the onset and maintenance of diverse psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, addiction, and emotional distress.
The retrieved literature consistently supports the claim that mental rigidity—frequently operationalized as psychological inflexibility, experiential avoidance, or cognitive inflexibility—is a core risk factor or transdiagnostic mechanism contributing to various psychological problems. Multiple empirical studies, reviews, and structural equation models confirm significant positive associations between rigidity and psychopathology such as depression, PTSD, internalizing symptoms, and substance use.
Michelle M. Lilly, Christy E. Allen. Psychological Inflexibility and Psychopathology in 9‐1‐1 Telecommunicators. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22004
Psychological inflexibility was shown to have a significant direct effect on psychopathology in telecommunicators.
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Gadassi Polack R, Bronstein MV, Questel M, Edelman A, Vinogradov S, Kober H, Joormann J, Everaert J. Social interpretation inflexibility moderates emotional reactions to social situations in children and adolescents.. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579423000834
Interpretation inflexibility was linked to higher internalizing symptoms and depressive symptom severity in adolescents.
Wei-Po Chou, Chien-ho Lin, Y. Yang, Shiou-Lan Chen, C. Yen. Effects of harassment on psychological inflexibility/experiential avoidance among Taiwanese emergent adult gay and bisexual men.. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2021.09.014
Higher psychological inflexibility/experiential avoidance was associated with greater mental illness and harassment vulnerability.
Black VK, Allen KJD, Aazh H, Johnson SL, Erfanian M. Misophonia symptom severity is linked to impaired flexibility and heightened rumination.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.70025
Cognitive inflexibility and psychological rigidity were uniquely linked to misophonia symptom severity and rumination.
Gadassi-Polack R, Zabag R, Bronstein MV, Joormann J, Everaert J. Biased and inflexible interpretations of social situations predict depressive symptoms and relational outcomes in parent-adolescent dyads.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2025.104840
Inflexible interpretations of social situations predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms in parent-adolescent dyads.
Ludovica Giani, Cecilia Amico, Chiara Crepaldi, M. Caputi, Simona Scaini, Giovanni Michelini, B. Forresi. Adolescent-Reported Interparental Conflict and Related Emotional–Behavioral Difficulties: The Mediating Role of Psychological Inflexibility. 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/pediatric17020033
Psychological inflexibility mediated the relationship between interparental conflict and adolescent emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Carvalho S. Executive dysfunction as a transdiagnostic mechanism of psychopathology: a neurocognitive framework for diagnosis and intervention.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2026.1778271
Executive dysfunction and cognitive inflexibility represent a transdiagnostic mechanism of psychopathology across multiple conditions.
Sequeda G, Durán-Rondón S, Acosta-López JE, Torres-Santos EA, Rivera-Porras D. Experiential Avoidance and Psychoactive Substance Use: Systematic Review.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe16020022
Experiential avoidance, or psychological inflexibility, acts as a transdiagnostic process underlying vulnerability to substance use disorders.
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