Cognitive–Discursive Organisation of Ruminative Narratives in Military Personnel

This comprehensive psycholinguistic study examined linguistic markers of rumination among military personnel, aimed at identifying cognitive, emotional, and behavioural markers that reflect maladaptive thinking in the context of combat and post-combat experiences. The study involved a sample of 477 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (M = 39.18, SD = 9.1), who underwent psychodiagnostic assessment using the Ruminative Responses Scale and provided written or oral narratives analysed through content analysis methods. The findings indicated that ruminative thinking was represented through specific linguistic markers: introspective verbs (e.g., “to think,” “to reflect,” “to analyse”), emotionally charged vocabulary (e.g., “fatigue,” “loneliness,” “guilt”), interrogative constructions and rhetorical questions, as well as expressions of helplessness, self-evaluation, and social withdrawal. These markers were categorised into cognitive, emotional, and behavioural parameters. A comparative analysis before and after psychological intervention revealed an overall reduction in the intensity of rumination, particularly among respondents with initially low levels of ruminative tendency. In contrast, participants with moderate to high rumination levels exhibited only marginal improvement, suggesting the persistence of maladaptive thinking patterns. This highlighted the need for differentiated and prolonged approaches to psychological support. The results underscored the value of psycholinguistic analysis as a tool for psychological assessment and monitoring. Psycholinguistic markers of rumination may serve as a significant source of insight into the inner state of military personnel, capturing the dynamics of emotional exhaustion and cognitive entrapment. The proposed approach enhances traditional methods of psychological evaluation and offers a deeper understanding of adaptation or maladaptation mechanisms under combat stress. Acknowledgements The study was conducted as part of the fundamental research project of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine entitled Socio-psychological Rehabilitation of Veterans and Individuals Affected by Military Actions through the Development of Metacognitive Monitoring, Reg. No. 0123U101555), which is being carried out by the National University of Ostroh Academy, Ukraine. Disclosure Statement The authors reported no potential conflict of interests.

Bruxism, defined as the grinding or clenching of teeth, is a multifactorial condition whose etiology involves both psychological and psychopathological aspects. In particular, it has been associated with variables such as anxiety, depression, and ruminative thinking. The aim of the present study is to examine the psychological characteristics associated with bruxism, with a particular focus on affective temperaments and depressive rumination. The subjects recruited from the general population were assessed through an online survey including the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A). Group differences were analyzed using the student's t-test for independent samples. Furthermore, a linear regression analysis was performed, thereby considering the RRS as the dependent variable and the TEMPS-A temperament dimensions as independent variables, in order to identify which temperamental profiles could explain depressive rumination in individuals with bruxism. The analyses revealed significant gender differences in the cyclothymic and anxious temperaments, as well as in the "Brooding" and "Depression" dimensions of the RRS. A regression analysis further indicated that cyclothymic and depressive temperaments predicted "Brooding" and "Depression", whereas only the cyclothymic temperament emerged as a predictor of "Reflection". These findings highlight the relevance of affective temperaments and depressive rumination in the psychological profile of patients with bruxism, thus underlining their importance for clinical practice.

Postpartum depression (PPD) has a high prevalence worldwide and adversely impacts both family and society. This study focuses on the association between parenting competence (PC), ruminative thinking (RT), and PPD among postpartum women, specifically examining the mediating role of RT. This quantitative study employed structural equation modeling and collected data using purposive sampling. Based on previous evidence,three-factor models require a minimum sample size of 86, though most studies recommend a value exceeding 200. After excluding missing data and outliers, the final sample consisted of 269 women, all within eight weeks postpartum, from three hospitals in China.The inclusion criteria were having at least a middle school diploma, voluntary participation, and no recent history of psychotherapy and medication treatment. The instruments used were the Edinburgh Depression Scale, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, and Rumination Response Scale. The study sequentially performed descriptive statistics, tested measurement models and structural models, and calculated path coefficients. The results indicated that (i) PC negatively predicted PPD; (ii) PC negatively predicted RT; and (iii) RT positively predicted PPD. Furthermore, RT mediated the relationship between PC and PPD, with PC and RT exerting nearly equivalent effects on PPD. The study confirmed the impact of PC on PPD through RT among Chinese postpartum women. Both PC and RT are critical factors in PPD. The study establishes a structural framework for understanding the relationships between PC, PPD, and RT, emphasizing the significant roles of PC and RT in the development of PPD. This provides valuable insights into understanding the mechanisms of PPD and offering reference for future research. In practice,healthcare professionals and family members should consider these factors, particularly ruminative thinking. By improving treatment plans and care strategies, they can reduce the incidence of postpartum depression and enhance the quality of life for postpartum women.

Worry and depressive rumination have been found to be involved in the onset and maintenance of a range of psychological disorders. The development of brief screening measures for excessive worry and depressive rumination is therefore desirable to facilitate the assessment of worry and rumination in prevention and treatment settings where routine administration of full questionnaires is not practical due to time-related constraints. Using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) as gold standard starting points, brief versions of these measures were developed in a large sample of adolescents (N = 1,952) and results were cross-validated in two independent samples (N = 1,954; N = 457). The brief versions demonstrated acceptable to high internal consistency (brief PSWQ: α = .84-.91; brief RRS: α = .78-.81) and correlated highly with the full questionnaires (brief PSWQ: r = .91-.94; brief RRS: r = .88-.91). In addition, they showed high sensitivity (brief PSWQ: .90-.92; brief RRS: .90-.93), and high specificity (brief PSWQ: .88-.90; brief RRS: .80-.87) to detect excessive worry and rumination. The validity of the brief measures was further supported by demonstrating that the brief measures showed similar differences in scores between males and females as the full measures as well as substantial relationships to other measures of repetitive negative thinking and symptom measures of anxiety and depression. Finally, the brief measures predicted future symptoms of anxiety and depression. The brief versions of the PSWQ and RRS are time-efficient and valid instruments for the screening of worry and depressive rumination. Their use in clinical practice is recommended to inform treatment and/or to select individuals at risk for development of psychological disorders who may benefit from preventive interventions.

Background:Depressive disorder is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder that influences 350 million individuals worldwide. It negatively affects social, familial functioning, and work productivity due to depressive symptoms that include disturbed eating and sleep habits, lack the desire to do things, impaired social and occupational functioning, and inability to maintain successful relationship besides the depressed mood. In response to their depressive symptoms, some individuals use ruminative thoughts to identify why they feel depressed in an attempt solve their problem. However, rumination exaggerates the depressive symptoms and may impair social problem solving. Method:A descriptive cross sectional research design was conducted in the in-patient Psychiatry Department at Mansoura University Hospital. The data was collected from 85 patients living with depression who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) were used to achieve the purpose of the study.Results:The results of the current study revealed that severity of depression positively significantly correlated with ruminative thoughts (p= 0.010). Furthermore, weak negative significant correlation between severity of depression and reflection domain of rumination in (RRS)wasdetected (p=0.011).Weak positive significant correlation between severity of depression and brooding domain of rumination in (RRS) (p=0.007). Conclusion:in conclusion, the severity of depressive disorder was positively correlated with ruminative thoughts.

This study aimed to examine psychosocial factors and medical history as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress associated with ruminative thinking in transgender people with gender dysphoria (GD) before undergoing gender affirmation surgery (GAS). This study evaluated 189 participants with GD (111 trans women and 78 trans men) from a specialized service for GAS in southern Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and participants were asked to complete self-report questionnaires. We recovered participants' sociodemographic and psychosocial data (e.g., history of sexual abuse, expulsion from home, and history of drug use) and data regarding their clinical history (e.g., medication, history of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, and HIV status). Further, we implemented the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to examine participants' psychological state, as well as the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) to assess ruminative thinking, which includes brooding and reflection. The predictor variables were those that exhibited a minimum level of significance of p ≤ 0.05 in multivariate linear regression. The ruminative thinking scores for trans women were higher than those of trans men (Brooding p = 0.014; Reflection p = 0.052).In the multivariate model, suicidal ideation, moderate depression, and severe/very severe anxiety were associated with both brooding and reflection. Feminine gender identity and stress symptoms moderated only brooding, while anxiety symptoms moderated only reflection. Our findings show that trans women had the highest ruminative thinking scores, and that depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation were associated with ruminative thinking in total sample. Psychological symptoms should be examined in the context of gender affirmation surgery to minimize the possibility of adverse mental health outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to measure ruminative thinking levels more accurately and to identify its predictors.

BackgroundNursing students exhibit a higher incidence of mental disorders. Studies have identified psychological stress contributes to elevated depression symptoms through reappraisal cognitive in nursing students. However, there is little research exploring the knowledge regarding the role of ruminative thinking in mediating the associations between psychological stress and depression symptoms. Guiding by the non-hemostatic model and cognitive control theory, the study aims to investigate the chained mediation of cognitive reappraisal and ruminate thinking between psychological stress and depression symptoms among nursing undergraduates.MethodsA total of 1,220 nursing undergraduates were carried out by stratified sampling from July to December of 2023 via online survey. The investigation adopted the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) to measure the level of psychological stress, cognitive reappraisal, ruminative thinking and depression symptoms, respectively. Pearson’s r was utilized to investigate the interrelationships, and the structural equation model (SEM) was used to clarify the mediation effects among the four variables.ResultsThe mean total score of CES-D was 21.57 ± 10.79. SEM analysis proved that psychological stress had a direct positive effect on depression symptoms (β = 0.388). accounting for a substantial 51.52% of the total effect. Cognitive reappraisal and ruminate thinking partially mediated the association between psychological stress and depression symptoms (95% CI: 0.094–0.210), and the mediating effect accounted for 48.48% of the total effect.ConclusionsNursing students exhibited a high prevalence of depression, and cognitive reappraisal and ruminate thinking partially mediated the correlations between psychological stress and depression symptoms. Interventions targeting at consolidating cognitive reappraisal and ruminate thinking are imperative for improving depression.

It is extremely significant to explore the relationship between ruminative thinking and breathlessness catastrophizing among elderly COPD patients. However, the impact of self-efficacy on this relationship is still unclear. This study attempted to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy between ruminative thinking and breathlessness catastrophizing. A cross-sectional study was reported following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. This study was conducted between 10 November 2024 and 25 January 2025, with 225 patients. Data were collected using the valid and reliable instruments, including the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the COPD Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES) and the Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale (BCS). Additionally, IBM SPSS v28.0 software was used to explore the mediating effect. The scores for BCS of most patients were at moderate and high levels. Scores for the RRS and CSES were significantly correlated with the BCS. The analysis of the mediating effect demonstrated that ruminative thinking has a direct predictive effect on breathlessness catastrophizing. Additionally, ruminative thinking can also predict breathlessness catastrophizing indirectly through the mediation of self-efficacy. The direct effect accounted for 64.4% of the total effect. This research revealed that self-efficacy played a partial mediating role in the relationship between ruminative thinking and breathlessness catastrophizing. Specifically, patients who were trapped in ruminative thinking were more likely to experience heightened breathlessness catastrophizing, but this relationship was mitigated by their level of self-efficacy. This finding underscores the significant psychological burden that accompanies the physical symptoms of COPD in this demographic. It is imperative that nurses adopt a holistic approach in the management of elderly COPD patients. Voluntary patients with elderly COPD hospitalised in the pneumology department were included in the study.

A cross-sectional study of 95 subjects with depression recruited intentionally from the psychiatric ward of Tzu Chi Hospital. The questionnaire included demographic data, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Ruminative Response Scale, and the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Independent sample t-test, Pearson product difference correlation, and the stepwise regression test were adopted for data analysis. Age (r = -0.41, p < 0.01), age at diagnosis (r = -0.34, p < 0.01), and sleep duration (r = -0.25, p < 0.05) were negatively correlated with rumination-reflection. The depressive symptoms (r = 0.72, p < 0.01) were positively correlated with rumination, whereas rumination (r = 0.57, p < 0.01) and suicide ideation were positively correlated. Depressive symptoms and rumination could predict suicide ideation, and the effective explanatory power reached 60%. If the patient with depression was younger or the patient was diagnosed at a younger age, the depressive symptoms of the reflection subscale of rumination thinking and suicide ideation were more serious. Our results indicate that clinicians who care for patients with depression should be aware of rumination and its impact on suicide ideation, specifically in younger patients.

This study explored the relationship between anxiety and sleep and the mediating role of rumination among Uyghur high school students in Kashgar, Xinjiang, using anxiety level as the independent variable, sleep status as the dependent variable, and rumination thinking as the mediating variable.The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory (PSQI) were used to assess the anxiety level, ruminant thinking, and sleep status of a total of 561 students in three high schools in Yecheng County, Kashgar, Xinjiang.There were 155 participants (27.63%) with sleep quality problems; there was a significant positive correlation between anxiety level and sleep status (t = 0.59,P < 0.01), a significant positive correlation between anxiety level and ruminative thinking (t = 0.61,P < 0.01), and a significant positive correlation between ruminative thinking and sleep status (t = 0.62, P < 0.01). Mediated effects analysis revealed direct and indirect effects of anxiety level on sleep status. The direct effect accounted for 46.14% of the total effect and the indirect effect through rumination accounted for 53.86% of the total effect.Anxiety levels play a significant predictive role for sleep status; ruminative thinking partially mediates the relationship between anxiety and sleep. These findings help to improve students' sleep status by reducing anxiety levels and ruminant thinking levels.

Some studies have shown that childhood trauma may damage the cognitive function of patients with mood disorders, which is related to the increase of depression. Other studies highlighted that negative expectations for the future and excessive ruminant thinking have an impact on the maintenance or even exacerbation of depressive symptoms. The current study examined the serial mediating role of rumination and prospective imagery vividness between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. A total of 1711 college students provided self-report data on the childhood trauma questionnaire, the prospective imagery task, ruminative responses scale and patient health questionnaire-9. Data showed that childhood trauma, ruminative thinking and vividness of prospective negative imagery were inversely related to depressive symptoms. The ruminative thinking and prospective negative imagery completely and serially mediated the relation between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. Additionally, the ruminative thinking and vividness of prospective positive imagery completely and serially mediated the relation between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms. These results suggest that ruminative thinking and prospective imagery vividness exerted a serial mediating effect in the relationship between childhood trauma and depressive symptoms, increasing the risk of depression.

Patients with fibromyalgia often experience repetitive negative thinking, which contributes to psychological distress. The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) is a tool designed to assess this cognitive pattern. However, its psychometric properties have not been tested in fibromyalgia. This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the PTQ in patients with fibromyalgia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in patients meeting the 2016 revisions to the 2010/2011 fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Participants were asked to complete the PTQ, Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), long version of the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), and Short Form-12 (SF-12). Test-retest reliability was assessed over a 15-day interval. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, and construct validity was examined via Spearman's correlation analyses. The study included 57 patients (55 female, 2 male) with a mean age of 45.1 ± 10.0years. The PTQ demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.996) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.992, 95% CI = 0.986 to 0.996, p < 0.001). Correlation analyses revealed that PTQ scores were strongly correlated with the RRS, HADS total, HADS-anxiety, HADS-depression,and SF-12 mental component scores, and moderately correlated with SF-12 physical component scores. Higher levels of perseverative thinking were associated with poorer physical, psychological, and mental health outcomes. However, a ceiling effect was detected, suggesting limited discrimination at the higher score range. The PTQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing perseverative thinking in patients with fibromyalgia. The strong psychometric properties support its use in clinical and research settings. However, ceiling effects should be considered when interpreting scores. Key Points • The PTQ demonstrated excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability in patients with fibromyalgia. • The PTQ demonstrated moderate-strong correlations with rumination, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. • The PTQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing perseverative thinking in patients with fibromyalgia.

Objective: A large number of studies indicate that clinicians are at risk for burnout. However, literature on the relationship between burnout and personal traits is limited. Perfectionism may play a role in the development of burnout by increasing ruminative thoughts and depressive symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between burnout and perfectionism, rumination and depressive symptoms. Materials and Methods: This study included 317 physicians who completed online surveys between May 2024 and September 2024. The questionnaires included sociodemographic and work environment characteristics, as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Ruminative Response Scale - Short Form self-report scales. Work-related ruminative thoughts and ruminative thoughts related to other life domains were assessed separately. Results: The results of our study showed that being unmarried, having a history of mobbing, taking the primary responsibility for household chores, being a resident, and working night shifts were associated with burnout. According to the results of regression analysis, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were predicted by depressive symptom severity and work-related rumination, whereas perfectionism scores were significantly predicted personal accomplishment. The likelihood of being in the suicide risk group was associated with low personal accomplishment in addition to depressive symptom severity. Mediator analysis revealed that the relationship between perfectionism and burnout was fully mediated by depressive symptom severity and rumination. Conclusion: Perfectionism leads to an increase in burnout through ruminative thoughts and an increase in depressive symptoms. Although small sample size of the study, our results have an important potential to guide interventions for perfectionism in physicians to reduce burnout and associated suicide risk.

The study aims to explore the relationship between mindfulness, rumination thinking, anxiety state, and depressed mood, and the chain mediating roles of rumination thinking and anxiety state in explaining how mindfulness influences depressed mood in infertile women. This cross-sectional study included 946 women with infertility from a maternal and child hospital in western China through convenience sampling. Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Rumination Response Scale (RRS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were measured as outcome indicators. SPSS PROCESS macro program was used to test for chained mediating effects and the significance using the Bootstrap method. The total effect of mindfulness on depressed mood was -0.390 with the direct path effect of -0.170. The total indirect path effect was -0.220, which accounted for 56.4% of the total effect, and that the chain mediated path (FFMQ→RRS→SAS→SDS) effect was significant with a mediation effect value of -0.075. Mindfulness can not only directly affect infertile women’s depressed mood, but also indirectly affect that through the chain-mediated effects of rumination thinking and anxiety state.

Introduction Addressing depression requires a comprehensive approach. Investigating the relationship between ruminative thought and mindfulness in patients with major depressive disorder is crucial. Objective This study aimed to investigate the correlation between ruminative thoughts and mindfulness in patients with major depressive disorder in the community. Design A cross-sectional study Methodology Participants included 75 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder in the maintenance phase of antidepressant therapy, purposively selected from a psychiatric hospital and community hospitals in a northeastern province of Thailand. Data were collected using questionnaires consisting of demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as assessments using Beck’s Depression Inventory, Ruminative Response Scale, and Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Results The majority of participants were female, with an average age of 51.08 years (SD = 15.46). Depressive symptoms over the past two weeks were classified as minimal (33.3%), mild-moderate (25.3%), moderately severe (28.0%), and severe (13.3%). The results indicated a significant positive correlation between depression severity and overall ruminative thought and its dimensions (r = .562, p&lt;.001). Additionally, there were significant positive correlations between depression severity and overall and all dimensions of ruminative thoughts (brooding, reflection, and depression-related items) (r = .441, .483, .592, p&lt;.001, respectively). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between ruminative thoughts and mindfulness (r = -.292, p = .012). However, no correlation was found between depression and mindfulness. Recommendation Patients with major depressive disorder undergoing antidepressant treatment typically have high ruminative thoughts. The results of this study provide basic information for predictive research that could lead to the development of community-based therapeutic programs for patients with depression, aimed at reducing ruminative thoughts and depression, resulting in preventing recurrent depression.