Explorations of Coping Strategies, Learned Persistence, and Resilience in Long-Evans Rats Innate versus Acquired Characteristics KELLY G. LAMBERT, a KELLY TU, a ASHLEY EVERETTE, a GENNIFER LOVE, a ILAN MCNAMARA, b MASSIMO BARDI, b AND CRAIG H. KINSLEY b a Department of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, USA b Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA ABSTRACT: In the current investigation, predispositions for coping styles (i.e., passive, flexible, and active) were determined in juvenile male rats. In subsequent behavioral tests, flexible copers exhibited more active re- sponses. In another study, animals were exposed to chronic stress and flexible coping rats had lower levels of corticosteroids. Focusing on the acquired nature of coping strategies, rats receiving extensive training in a task requiring them to dig for food rewards (i.e., effort-based re- wards) persisted longer in a challenging task than control animals. Thus, the results suggest that both predisposed coping strategies and acquired behavioral experience contribute to resilience in challenging situations. KEYWORDS: resilience; coping; effort-based rewards; learned persis- tence INTRODUCTION Although the stress response is adaptive for overcoming acute stressors, it can lead to the emergence of stress-related disease when stress becomes chronic. 1,2 Recent research suggests that an individual’s day-to-day coping strategies may also be an important factor in the genesis of stress-mediated diseases such as depression. 3–5 Consequently, the development of animal mod- els for the investigation of coping responses may be a valuable approach for the identification of neurobiological factors serving as potential buffers against Address for correspondence: Kelly G. Lambert, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA 23005. Voice: 804-752-4717; fax: 804-752-4724. e-mail: klambert@rmc.edu Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1094: 319–324 (2006). C  2006 New York Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1196/annals.1376.042 319