Abstract
BackgroundA ruminative style of responding to low mood is associated with subsequent high depressive symptoms and depressive disorder in children, adolescents and adults. Scores on self-report rumination scales correlate strongly with scores on anxiety and depression symptom scales. This may confound any associations between rumination and subsequent depression.MethodsOur sample comprised 658 healthy adolescents at elevated risk for psychopathology. This study applied ordinal item (non-linear) factor analysis to pooled items from three self-report questionnaires to explore whether there were separate, but correlated, constructs of rumination, depression and anxiety. It then tested whether rumination independently predicted depressive disorder and depressive symptoms over the subsequent 12 months, after adjusting for confounding variables.ResultsWe identified a single rumination factor, which was correlated with factors representing cognitive symptoms of depression, somatic symptoms of depression and anxiety symptoms; and one factor representing adaptive responses to low mood. Elevated rumination scores predicted onset of depressive disorders over the subsequent year (p = 0.035), and levels of depressive symptoms 12 months later (p < 0.0005), after adjustment for prior levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms.ConclusionHigh rumination predicts onset of depressive disorder in healthy adolescents. Therapy that reduces rumination and increases distraction/problem-solving may reduce onset and relapse rates of depression.
Highlights
A ruminative style of responding to low mood is associated with subsequent high depressive symptoms and depressive disorder in children, adolescents and adults
We investigated the factor structure of a joint set of items from all three self report questionnaires purporting to measure depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and rumination
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of Responses to Depression Questionnaire (RDQ), Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) items The four and five factor solutions were entered estimated as separate CFAs
Summary
A ruminative style of responding to low mood is associated with subsequent high depressive symptoms and depressive disorder in children, adolescents and adults. High rumination scores on the RSQ predicts higher future depressive symptoms [3] and DSM-defined major depressive episodes in child and adolescent samples [4,5,6]. This rumination-depression association appears to be stronger in studies of adolescents than of children [3]. This may be due to greater exposure to negative stressors from the age of 13; this is relevant because rumination may moderate the depressogenic effect of stressors [6] This may reflect differences in other cognitive vulnerability factors that manifest differentially with increasing age [7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
