Ruminatif Düşünme ve Depresif Belirtiler Arasındaki İlişkide Cinsiyetin Etkisi

Abstract

Rumination means dealing with one's own feelings and thoughts passively and repetitively. There are two types of rumination: reflection, and brooding. Rumination prepares a suitable ground for many mental disorders, especially depression. The incidence of depressive symptoms in women was reported to be higher than in men. It has been claimed that the frequency and severity of depression may be increasing due to rumination since rumination is also higher in women. Studies in the literature have often progressed on a single type of rumination, brooding. Reflection is often considered a positive coping style and protective because it is related to problem solving, but inconsistent results have been obtained in studies on the effect on depression. In our study, we aimed to examine the effect of gender on depression by considering reflection and brooding separately instead of evaluating rumination only through brooding. Two hundred and twenty-seven university students were invited to the study, and 196 of them agreed to participate in the study. A sociodemographic form, ruminative responses scale, and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) were applied to the participants who accepted the study. Correlation analyses and linear regression were applied to the obtained data. Brooding and reflection scores were positively correlated with the PHQ-9 scores. Women got higher scores in brooding and reflection scales than men. Women got higher scores in PHQ-9 than men but it is not significant statistically. In linear regression analyses, brooding and reflection scores positively significantly predicted PHQ-9 scores. Women have higher depressive symptoms and are considered more ruminative, but only ruminative thinking (both brooding and reflection) can predict depressive symptoms. Interventions targeting both brooding and maladaptive reflection are recommended to treat major depression.