Measures Of Repetitive Negative Thinking Research Articles

Insistence on sameness, repetitive negative thinking and mental health in autistic and non-autistic adults.

Autistic people are more likely to have mental health problems than non-autistic people. We know that having repetitive and negative thoughts can contribute to multiple mental health problems such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Autistic people often do the same behaviours repetitively, and they may also have more repetitive thinking styles. This could contribute to higher rates of mental health problems in autistic people. In this research, we wanted to find out if higher rates of repetitive behaviours contributed to depression and anxiety, and whether this relationship was because of repetitive negative thinking. We asked three groups of autistic adults to take part in the research. Sixty-seven autistic clinical participants were recruited from clinical settings and had moderate depression. Fifty-four autistic community participants and 66 non-autistic community participants were recruited from community settings. All participants completed measures of repetitive behaviours; a measure of anxiety and depression; and two measures of repetitive negative thinking (ruminating and obsessing). Autistic community participants had significantly higher repetitive behaviours, rumination and obsessing scores than non-autistic community participants. We found that higher rates of repetitive behaviours contributed to more repetitive thinking (obsessing and ruminating), which contributed to higher rates of depression and anxiety. The higher rates of repetitive negative thinking found in autistic individuals may contribute to higher rates of mental health problems in this group. Mental health assessments and interventions for autistic people should therefore consider the role of multiple forms of repetitive negative cognition and behaviour, which cut across diagnostic categories such as anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These should be considered when aiming to understand why individuals develop mental health conditions and why these conditions persist.

Ruminative response scale for eating disorders: bifactor model and measurement invariance in a Portuguese community sample

ABSTRACT The Ruminative Response Scale for Eating Disorders (RRS-ED) measures ruminative thought content specifically related to eating disordered themes, assessing two domains of rumination, brooding and reflection. This study aims to examine the factor structure of the RRS-ED in a Portuguese community sample, using correlated two-factor models, unifactorial and bifactor models and test for invariance across sex. A sample of 535 adults (179 male; 356 female) filled out the RRS-ED. A subsample (n=347) answered additional measures of repetitive negative thinking and eating psychopathology. The bifactor model of the RRS-ED provided the best fit, demonstrating a reliable general rumination factor. Also, the bifactor model of the RRS-ED was invariant across sex. RRS-ED showed moderate to strong correlations with negative perseverative thinking and eating psychopathology. Both domain-specific factors of RRS-ED were associated with higher levels of eating psychopathology. Findings indicate that RRS-ED is a reliable and valid measure to assess the ruminative response from the general population in Portugal, showing initial evidence that supports the use of a total score of RRS-ED as an overall measure of rumination, while specific factor scores should be reported with caution. Future studies are needed to replicate the findings and further corroborate the unidimensionality of the RRS-ED.

Linking repetitive negative thinking and insomnia symptoms: A longitudinal trait-state model

Sleep disturbance is highly debilitating, and an abundance of research suggests that repetitive negative thinking (i.e., rumination, worry) may contribute to the development and maintenance of maladaptive sleep patterns, such as insomnia symptoms. Although repetitive negative thinking is often conceptualized as a ‘trait’ risk factor for anxiety-related disorders, it is unclear if it consists of time-varying (TV) or state-like features versus time-invariant (TI) or trait-like characteristics. Furthermore, it is unclear if it is the TV or TI components of repetitive negative thinking that contribute to insomnia symptoms that is commonly observed in anxiety-related disorders. In a 6-wave, 5-month longitudinal study, community participants (N = 1219) completed measures of rumination, worry, transdiagnostic repetitive negative thinking, and insomnia symptoms. A latent variable (trait-state-occasion) model was applied to the measures of repetitive negative thinking. The results showed that although estimates of TI factor variance and TV factor variance were both significant for latent repetitive negative thinking, worry, and rumination, the proportion of TI factor variance (0.82–0.89) was greater than the amount of TV factor variance (0.11–0.19). Although TV factor stability was statistically significant for latent repetitive negative thinking, rumination, and worry, the magnitude of the coefficients was small. Furthermore, regression weights for the latent repetitive negative thinking, rumination, and worry TI factor were significant and larger than those for the TV factor in predicting insomnia symptoms at each of the six time points. These findings suggest that repetitive negative thinking is largely TI, and it is this TI component that contributes to insomnia symptoms. Implications for conceptualizations of repetitive negative thinking as a predisposing and perpetuating factor in insomnia for anxiety and related disorders are discussed.

Which features of repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal predict depression? An in-depth investigation using artificial neural networks with feature selection.

Emotion regulation habits have long been implicated in risk for depression. However, research in this area traditionally adopts an approach that ignores the multifaceted nature of emotion regulation strategies, the clinical heterogeneity of depression, and potential differential relations between emotion regulation features and individual symptoms. To address limitations associated with the dominant aggregate-level approach, this study aimed to identify which features of key emotion regulation strategies are most predictive and when those features are most predictive of individual symptoms of depression across different time lags. Leveraging novel developments in the field of machine learning, artificial neural network models with feature selection were estimated using data from 460 participants who participated in a 20-wave longitudinal study with weekly assessments. At each wave, participants completed measures of repetitive negative thinking, positive reappraisal, perceived stress, and depression symptoms. Results revealed that specific features of repetitive negative thinking (wondering "why cannot I get going?" and having thoughts or images about feelings of loneliness) and positive reappraisal (looking for positive sides) were important indicators for detecting various depressive symptoms, above and beyond perceived stress. These features had overlapping and unique predictive relations with individual cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms. Examining temporal fluctuations in the predictive utility, results showed that the utility of these emotion regulation features was stable over time. These findings illuminate potential pathways through which emotion regulation features may confer risk for depression and help to identify actionable targets for its prevention and treatment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Dispositional mindfulness is associated with less cognitive fusion and better effortful control in young people: The mediating role of repetitive negative thinking

Introduction: The scientific community is taking an increasing interest in mindfulness due to its positive association with physical and psychological health indicators. However, there is still ongoing debate as to whether there could be other explanations for these effects. Aim: This study explores the relationships between dispositional mindfulness, cognitive fusion, effortful control and repetitive negative thinking (RNT). RNT was chosen as a potential mediating variable due to its presence in multiple psychological disorders. Method: A mediation analysis was performed using the bootstrap method with 5000 replications on data collected from a non-clinical sample of 415 young adults who completed a battery of online questionnaires. Results: Dispositional mindfulness is negatively associated with measures of RNT, effortful control and cognitive fusion. The analyses indicate that the effect that dispositional mindfulness has on cognitive fusion in young people can be partially mediated with medium effect size by RNT. Conclusion: RNT may play a central role as an underlying process in the link between mindfulness and different psychological aspects.

Validation of the Child version of the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire of repetitive negative thinking in young people with diagnosed depressive and anxiety disorders.

This paper sought to provide the first validation of a transdiagnostic measure of repetitive negative thinking – the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire‐Child version (PTQ‐C) – in young people diagnosed with anxiety and depressive disorders. Participants (N = 114) were 11‐ to 17‐year‐olds with complex and comorbid presentations seeking treatment through Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Confirmatory factor analyses best supported a three‐factor model for the PTQ‐C; however, hypotheses of both perfect and close fit were rejected, and a subsequent bifactor model suggested minimal unique variance for each subscale. Results demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity and divergent validity for the total score and three PTQ‐S subscales: core characteristics, perceived unproductiveness, and consumed mental capacity of negative repetitive thinking. PTQ‐C scores did not account for additional variance in anxiety symptoms once worry was considered, indicating that retention of a content‐specific measure may be warranted in clinical samples. Findings emphasize the importance of validating clinically relevant measures which were developed with subclinical populations in samples with diagnosed mental health disorders.Practitioner points Validates Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire in anxious and depressed youth.Support for convergent and divergent validity, and internal consistency.Results suggest measure is appropriate for complex and comorbid presentations.

Measurement Invariance of Disorder-Specific and Transdiagnostic Measures of Repetitive Negative Thinking.

Repetitive negative thinking is conceptualized to be a transdiagnostic process linked to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Prior research distinguishes between disorder-specific exemplars (worry, rumination) and transdiagnostic measures of repetitive negative thinking with differences across disorders reported. However, establishing the measurement invariance of these measures is necessary to support meaningful comparisons across clinical groups. Bayesian structural equation modelling was used to assess the approximate invariance of the Ruminative Response Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire across individuals with a principal diagnosis of either depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. All scales demonstrated approximate measurement invariance across the three disorder groups. The depressive disorder group reported a higher level of rumination than the generalized anxiety disorder group (Δµ = 0.25, 95% Credibility Interval [0.06, 0.45]), with no difference between the generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder groups. The depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder groups did not differ in their levels of trait repetitive negative thinking, but the social anxiety disorder group was markedly lower than the generalized anxiety disorder group (Δµ = -0.21 [-0.37, -0.05]). Similarly, levels of worry did not differ between the generalized anxiety disorder and depressive disorder group but were lower in the social anxiety disorder group than the generalized anxiety disorder group (Δµ = -0.23 [-0.41, -0.06]). The Ruminative Response Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire are measuring trait repetitive negative thinking in a consistent manner across individuals with a principal diagnosis of depressive disorder, social anxiety disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. This supports their use in transdiagnostic contexts and indicates that it is appropriate to directly compare the scores on these measures between diagnostic groups.

Clinical Case of a Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Rumination-Focused CBT for Anger Rumination

Anger dysregulation is part of a broad range of clinical disorders, and as a dynamic risk factor for aggression anger is highly relevant in clinical populations. Problems of anger and reactive aggression are trans-diagnostic and treatments should target the mechanisms involved in problematic anger across disorders. There is empirical evidence that anger rumination is associated with anger as well as aggression. Because rumination-focused CBT (RfCBT) has shown that reduction in rumination seems to be associated with transdiagnostic reductions in symptoms, the present study aimed at extending the applicability of the RfCBT model to target problematic anger in a case of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). The current study was a clinical case study with a patient suffering from problematic anger and anger rumination, and diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) receiving 25 sessions of rumination-focused CBT (RfCBT) for problematic anger. The primary focus was on anger and anger rumination, which was reduced during therapy, and maintained in the 3 months follow up. Results on the measures of repetitive negative thinking also showed a decrease, however symptoms of depression and anxiety had increased from pre- to post treatment. RfCBT can be applied to a case of SPD with problematic anger, thereby showing proof of concept for a transdiagnostic use of RfCBT and opening up for future research in this area. The applicability of RfCBT to anger problems among patients diagnosed with SPD needs to be replicated in a larger sample of patients diagnosed with SPD/problematic anger and anger rumination.

Evaluación psicométrica inicial del Cuestionario de Pensamiento Perseverativo en universitarios peruanos

Background: The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) is a global measure of repetitive negative thinking, a core transdiagnostic dimension of mental health. Objectives: This study sought to examine the factor structure, reliability, and evidence of associative validity of the PTQ in Peruvian undergraduates. Method: Data from 240 undergraduates (Mage = 20.33, 59% female) were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis. After finding the best factor structure, reliability was estimated with coefficient omega. The correlation between the PTQ’s latent variable and cognitive fusion was examined as evidence of associative validity. Results: the PTQ proved to be essentially unidimensional since acceptable fit was obtained by the one-factor model with three correlations between errors (CFI = .945; RMSEA = .079). Reliability was high (ω = .927). The correlation between the PTQ and cognitive fusion was very large (ϕ = .876). Conclusion: The PTQ is an essentially unidimensional measure, thus only a global score should be computed. Associative validity should be further examined in future studies.

0248 Does Attentional Control Relate to Sleep Disruption and Repetitive Negative Thinking?

Abstract Introduction Insomnia is associated with increased repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and poor attentional control. There is increasing interest in the relevance of these processes for psychopathology. For example, Cox, Cole, Kramer and Olatunji (2018) proposed that focusing and shifting in attentional control may help explain the link between sleep disturbance and RNT. In support, attentional focus was found to be significant in the relationship between insomnia and RNT. As this study looked at disorder-specific measures of RNT and only insomnia, the current study aimed to replicate and extend the findings by also examining circadian sleep disruption and transdiagnostic RNT. Methods The current study included 127 participants. Sleep disruption was assessed by the SLEEP-50 (Spoormaker, Verbeek, van den Bout & Klip, 2005). This measure provides several subscale scores, including disruption in circadian rhythms and insomnia. The Attentional Control Scale (Derryberry & Reed, 2002) is a measure of attentional focus and shifting which was also utilized. Lastly, the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (Ehring et al., 2011) is a widely used transdiagnostic measure of RNT. Results Pearson’s Correlations indicated that both insomnia and circadian disruptions were significantly associated with RNT (insomnia, r=.27; circadian, r=.24). Mirroring the results of Cox, Cole, Kramer and Olatunji, attentional focus was significant (insomnia, r=-.29; circadian, r=-.28), whereas attentional shift was not (insomnia, r=.02; circadian, r=.06). Conclusion The connection between sleep disruption and factors that contribute to psychopathology needs to be better understood. This study differentiates types of attention and their relation to insomnia and circadian sleep disruption, and RNT. If attentional focus can link sleep disruption and RNT, clinicians can move one step closer to understanding the development of risk factors that may jeopardize an individual. Support n/a

Brief State Rumination Inventory (BSRI): A Standardization Study for Turkish Speaking Populations

Rumination, which is a form of repetitive negative thinking, has been suggested as a variable associated with elevated risks for depression. Current research conceptualizes rumination as a dispositional entity but has neglected its more state-based forms, which may also be equally related to emotional disorders. Brief State Rumination Inventory (BSRI) is a psychometrically sound measure of state rumination, demonstrated to be sensitive to situational changes in rumination. The current study aims to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Turkish form of BSRI. Results of the first study replicated the single factor structure of the original version of BSRI in a group of 192 Turkish speaking adults between ages 18 and 65. Moreover, the Turkish version of BSRI yielded satisfactory levels of internal consistency and construct validity indicated by significant associations with measures of repetitive negative thinking, avoidant coping, and psychological distress. Study 2 examined the sensitivity of BSRI to momentary changes in rumination to assess the criterion validity of the Turkish form of BSRI, by examining its sensitivity to a rumination induction procedure in 66 university students (39 women). Together, these results suggest that the Turkish version of BSRI is a psychometrically reliable tool which is appropriate for the assessment of state rumination in Turkish speaking populations.

Measuring repetitive negative thinking: Development and validation of the Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS).

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a key risk and maintenance factor for many psychological disorders and is considered a transdiagnostic process. However, there are few disorder-neutral measures that assess RNT in adults, only 1 of moderate length considered suitable for children, and none that are validated for both children and adults. This study aimed to address this gap by developing a brief measure of RNT that can be used with both children and adults and can be quickly administered in research and clinical contexts. In Study 1, we administered the new 5-item Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS) to 527 children (50.3% boys; Mage = 11.2). A 1-factor model fit well and was invariant for boys and girls. The scale showed high internal consistency and good stability across a 2-week interval. The PINTS was significantly associated with measures of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating and was weakly associated with adaptive forms of coping, demonstrating good divergent validity. In Study 2, there were 419 adults (38.9% men; Mage = 31.7) who completed the PINTS. The results replicated and extended the results of Study 1 by demonstrating that the PINTS had good construct, convergent, and criterion validity as well as good internal consistency and stability over time and was invariant across gender and age. It was concluded that the PINTS is a brief, valid, and useful tool for investigating RNT as a transdiagnostic process in the etiology and maintenance of psychological disorders in both children and adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidence for Transdiagnostic Repetitive Negative Thinking and Its Association with Rumination, Worry, and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms: A Commonality Analysis.

Recent theoretical advances have emphasized the commonality between rumination and worry, often referred to as repetitive negative thinking. Although not studied extensively, repetitive negative thinking may not only account for a substantial overlap between depression and anxiety symptoms but also encapsulate other constructs including one's tendency to experience unwanted intrusive thoughts or have low levels of mindfulness. In this study, 643 college students completed self-report questionnaire measures of repetitive negative thinking (the Habit Index of Negative Thinking) and other relevant constructs including rumination, worry, depression and anxiety symptoms, intrusive thoughts, and mindfulness. To analyze the data, we conducted systematic commonality analyses, which algebraically decomposed shared variances among these measures into various unique components. Results in Study 1 indicated that individual differences in repetitive negative thinking were explained largely by the overlap between rumination and worry, but also by some rumination-specific and worry-specific variance. Moreover, the shared variation in rumination and worry explained the frequencies of depression and anxiety symptoms and their overlap. We also found in Study 2 that repetitive negative thinking was positively related to intrusive thoughts and negatively related to mindfulness. These associations were mostly explained by shared variance with rumination and worry, but there was also some mindfulness-specific variance. These results suggest that repetitive negative thinking may indeed lie at the core of the comorbidity between depression and anxiety symptoms, but that it is also a broader construct that encompasses intrusive thoughts and low levels of mindfulness.

Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ): French Validation of a Transdiagnostic Measure of Repetitive Negative Thinking.

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process involved in the onset and maintenance of many psychological disorders. The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (Ehring et al., 2011) is a content-independent scale composed of 15 items that assesses RNT from a transdiagnostic perspective in both clinical and general populations. The aim of the current research was to translate and validate the French version of the PTQ through two studies (total N = 1016) following the steps for the trans-cultural validation of psychometric instruments (Hambleton et al., 2006). An exploratory factor analysis conducted on a first community sample revealed a latent structure composed of 10 items distributed on one common factor, labeled RNT, and three subfactors that evaluated the repetitive characteristic of RNT, the intrusiveness of RNT and the effect of RNT on mental resources. This factorial structure was confirmed in two confirmatory factor analyses in community and clinical samples. Scale score reliability indices were good and confirmed the validity of the instrument. The French version of the PTQ is a good content-independent instrument to assess RNT in general and clinical populations of French speakers.

Repetitive Negative Thinking: A Transdiagnostic Correlate of Affective Disorders

Recent research suggests that repetitive negative thinking is a transdiagnostic phenomenon that is present across affective disorders. Notably, multiple measures of repetitive negative thinking exist, including some that are disorder-specific and others that are transdiagnostic. To date, no studies have examined whether these measures are captured by a latent Repetitive Negative Thinking factor or how these measures are differentially associated with symptoms of affective disorders, including mood, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Across two separate studies, Mechanical Turk participants completed measures of rumination, post-event processing, dampening of positive affect, and two transdiagnostic measures of repetitive thinking, as well as measures of depression, physiological anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and body dysmorphic disorder. Using structural equation modeling, evidence of a single Repetitive Negative Thinking latent factor was found. Moreover, positive associations emerged between the latent factor and all five clinical symptom measures. Notably, few differences emerged in the magnitude of the associations between measures of repetitive negative thinking and psychological symptoms. Together, findings support a transdiagnostic conceptualization of repetitive negative thinking.

Repetitive Negative Thinking in Anticipation of a Stressor

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been confirmed as a transdiagnostic phenomenon, but most measures of RNT are contaminated with diagnosis-specific content. The first aim of this study was to examine the structure of an anticipatory version of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ-Ant) as a trans-emotional measure of anticipatory RNT. The original RTQ was completed with reference to a past stressor, whereas the RTQ-Ant instructs respondents to link their responses to a future stressor. The second aim was to test if the associations between a range of emotions (anxiety, depression, shame, anger, general distress) and the original post-stressor version of the RTQ would be replicated. Undergraduates (N = 175, 61% women) completed the RTQ-Ant, along with measures of various emotions, with reference to upcoming university exams. Principal axis factor analysis yielded many similarities between the original post-event RTQ and the RTQ-Ant, and some differences. The RTQ-Ant was comprised of two subscales: the RNT subscale measures engagement in repetitive thinking, negative thoughts about oneself, and ‘why’ questions; and the Isolated Contemplation (IC) subscale included items referring to isolating oneself and reflecting on negative thoughts, feelings, loneliness, and listening to sad music. RNT was more strongly related to negative emotions than IC. The RTQ-Ant appears to be a reliable measure of anticipatory RNT that is associated with a broad array of emotions.

Intolerance of uncertainty and negative metacognitive beliefs as transdiagnostic mediators of repetitive negative thinking in a clinical sample with anxiety disorders

This study aimed to replicate and extend a hierarchical model of vulnerability to worry, with neuroticism and extraversion as higher-order factors and negative metacognitions and intolerance of uncertainty as second-order factors. The model also included a transdiagnostic measure of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) and depression symptoms as outcome variables to determine whether relationships would extend beyond worry, which has traditionally been studied within the context of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Participants (N=99) were referrals to a specialist anxiety disorders clinic with a principal anxiety disorder who completed a battery of self-report questionnaires assessing neuroticism, extraversion, metacognitions, intolerance of uncertainty, worry, RNT, and depression symptoms. Mediational analyses using bootstrapping provided support for transdiagnostic and diagnosis-specific mediation effects. Negative metacognitions fully mediated the relationship between neuroticism and RNT for the whole sample and for subsamples with and without GAD. Intolerance of uncertainty mediated the relationship between neuroticism and worry (for the whole sample and for those with GAD) and between neuroticism and RNT (for those with GAD). Implications for theory, treatment, and nosology are discussed.

The Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ): Validation of a content-independent measure of repetitive negative thinking

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been found to be involved in the maintenance of several types of emotional problems and has therefore been suggested to be a transdiagnostic process. However, existing measures of RNT typically focus on a particular disorder-specific content. In this article, the preliminary validation of a content-independent self-report questionnaire of RNT is presented. The 15-item Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire was evaluated in two studies (total N = 1832), comprising non-clinical as well as clinical participants. Results of confirmatory factor analyses across samples supported a second-order model with one higher-order factor representing RNT in general and three lower-order factors representing (1) the core characteristics of RNT (repetitiveness, intrusiveness, difficulties with disengagement), (2) perceived unproductiveness of RNT and (3) RNT capturing mental capacity. High internal consistencies and high re-test reliability were found for the total scale and all three subscales. The validity of the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire was supported by substantial correlations with existing measures of RNT and associations with symptom levels and clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety. Results suggest the usefulness of the new measure for research into RNT as a transdiagnostic process.