Abstract
State rumination, unlike trait rumination which is described as a persistent and stable response style, is usually triggered by a specific stressful event and causes negative emotions within a short period of time. The measurement methods of trait rumination, such as the ruminative response scale (RRS), are therefore not fully applicable to state rumination. Recently, researchers have developed the brief state rumination inventory (BSRI) to characterize state rumination, addressing the gap in the field of accurate measurement of state rumination. To develop such an effective tool in the Chinese context, we developed a Chinese version of the BSRI and tested its psychometric properties. Two studies were conducted to address the research goal. In Study 1, we recruited 512 subjects, each of whom completed the Chinese version of the BSRI, RRS, emotional regulation questionnaire (ERQ), depression–anxiety–stress scale (DASS), and positive and negative affect scale (PANAS). Results showed that the scores of the BSRI were positively correlated with all other scale scores (ps < 0.001), and the correlation with the RRS was the highest, indicating that the BSRI showed good convergent validity. Additionally, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Chinese version of the BSRI was 0.93. Study 2 aimed to examine the ecological validity of the Chinese version of the BSRI. We recruited another 54 subjects who were randomly divided into two groups, with 27 in the rumination induction group and 27 in the distraction group, and recorded the BSRI scores of the two groups before and after a specific experiment. We found there was a significant increase in BSRI scores after rumination induction (t = 3.91, p < 0.001), while there was no significant difference in the concrete distraction group before and after the experiment (t = 0.70, p = 0.48). In sum, the Chinese version of the BSRI showed good reliability and validity for assessing state rumination in the general Chinese population.
Highlights
Rumination is a mode of thinking in which individuals repeatedly ponder over their negative effects or the causes, effects, and results of stressful events they have previously experienced [1]
The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results showed that the Chinese version of the brief state rumination inventory (BSRI) was a single-factor model, which is consistent with the theoretical hypothesis and research results of Marchetti [26], the design of the original questionnaire, indicating that the BSRI has relatively stable cross-cultural consistency
The BSRI was moderately correlated with three ruminative response scale (RRS) subscales but not highly correlated (Ps < 0.6), which was consistent with the results of prior study, indicating that the BSRI captures state aspects of rumination that are not subsumed under trait rumination [26]
Summary
Rumination is a mode of thinking in which individuals repeatedly ponder over their negative effects or the causes, effects, and results of stressful events they have previously experienced [1]. It has been widely reported as an established cognitive vulnerability factor for depression [2]. Rumination has been proved to postpone the treatment response of MDD and reduce the efficacy of drugs used for the treatment of depression [5]. Beyond MDD, other mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and bulimia nervosa are affected by rumination [6, 7]. Rumination could be regarded as a “transdiagnostic factor,” a better understanding of which would be of great significance to promote mental health [8, 9]
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