Distress tolerance and symptoms of depression: A review and integration of literatures

Distress tolerance has emerged as a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology but has received little theoretical attention in the depression literature. Evidence strongly suggests that individuals who have trouble tolerating distress display greater symptoms of depression, however. The lack of overlap between literatures is an important oversight, as the depression literature provides unique perspectives that have yet to be addressed in the distress tolerance literature. The current review thus (1) integrates findings from different literatures on distress tolerance and symptoms of depression, (2) discusses how this synthesis can inform clinical science and burgeoning distress tolerance treatments, (3) outlines important gaps in the distress tolerance and depression literatures, and (4) describes how they may be addressed by incorporating recent theoretical advances.