Abstract
The present study investigated how humor styles moderate the associations between rumination and mental health (depressive symptoms, satisfaction with life, and positive mental health) in community residents. Participants ( N = 382) were assessed with the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH-scale). Hayes’ PROCESS macro revealed that rumination had a direct effect on depressive symptoms and was moderated by affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, and aggressive humor, respectively. The relationship between rumination and satisfaction with life was moderated by self-enhancing humor, aggressive humor, and self-defeating humor, respectively. Affiliative humor, self-enhancing humor, and aggressive humor were moderators in the relation between rumination and positive mental health. This study revealed that different humor styles have varying impacts between rumination and mental health. It is crucial for healthcare professionals to promote the importance of using adaptive humor styles to improve mental health.
Highlights
Rumination occurs when a person focuses on negative and repetitive thoughts of distressing symptoms and its possible causes and effects (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1993)
In addition to focusing on the impact of rumination on depression, this study examined the relationship between rumination and positive mental health in community adults
The present study found a direct link between rumination and humor styles and mental health, and established the moderation effect of different humor styles in the association
Summary
Rumination occurs when a person focuses on negative and repetitive thoughts of distressing symptoms and its possible causes and effects (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1993). The results by Wilkinson et al (2013) found that higher rumination scores predicted significantly more depressive symptoms among healthy adolescents at a 12-month follow-up. Gan et al (2015) revealed that rumination was a significant predictor for depressive symptoms of elderly adults in nursing homes at a 6-month follow-up. A longitudinal study found that rumination predicted a residual change of depressive symptoms in community adults (Whisman et al, 2020). Self-rumination was negatively associated with happiness in university students (Sariçam, 2016). These results imply that an individual who is healthy but has the tendency to ruminate may become depressed. In addition to focusing on the impact of rumination on depression, this study examined the relationship between rumination and positive mental health in community adults
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