Unpacking Rumination and Executive Control: A Network Perspective

Abstract

Rumination is a common and problematic feature of depression and related disorders. It may reflect impairments in executive control. In this project, we used network analysis to explore the conceptualization of rumination in terms of impoverished top-down executive control. A total of 91 participants completed laboratory tasks of executive control, underwent a stressor, and reported on their level of rumination. We computed a regularized partial correlation network, relative importance network, and directed acyclic graph to estimate the functional relations among aspects of rumination and executive control. Results highlighted the centrality of self-criticism in the network. Perseverative thinking (e.g., brooding) predicted poor executive control, which in turn related to greater self-criticism. These complementary network perspectives suggest that multinode loops could be at play. This new approach to visualizing rumination may offer a more informative view of the interplay between problematic cognitive and affective processes, as well as ways of integrating self-report and behavioral variables.