Dispositional Rumination in Individuals with a Depression History

Many studies show that rumination is related to current depressive episodes but very few studies have examined whether rumination is elevated among those with a history of diagnosed depression. The goal of the current study was to examine whether a history of diagnosable major depressive disorder (MDD) is related to rumination among undergraduates. In addition, individual difference variables (i.e. problem-solving abilities, neuroticism and self-esteem) that might help explain rumination were examined. Participants were interviewed with the SCID to diagnose MDD. Fifty-one had no history of MDD and 41 had a MDD history. Depression history was significantly related to rumination, even after controlling for subsyndromal symptoms. Rumination was related to negative problem-solving orientation. Major limitations of this study are the cross-sectional design, undergraduate sample and the relatively small sample size, particularly for multidimensional analyses.

Brooding Perfectionism: Refining the Roles of Rumination and Perfectionism in the Etiology of Depression

The current study examines the hypothesized interaction between certain dimensions of both perfectionism and rumination as diatheses for depressive symptoms. Three hundred and five participants completed measures of perfectionism, rumination, and depressive symptoms at Time 1, and then returned 4 weeks later at Time 2 to complete measures of stress and depressive symptoms. In line with our hypotheses, results indicated that individuals with high levels of certain dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., self-oriented and socially prescribed, but not other-oriented), high levels of brooding rumination (but not the reflection dimension of rumination), and high stress experienced the greatest increases in depressive symptoms over time. Moreover, results revealed that the role of self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism as diatheses for depression is dependent upon brooding rumination. This work has potential benefits for understanding the cognitive mechanisms that lead to depression.

Repetitive Thought and Emotional Distress: Rumination and Worry as Prospective Predictors of Depressive and Anxious Symptomatology

Repetitive thought processes have been implicated in vulnerability to both anxiety and depression. The present study used a prospective design to examine the ability of worry and rumination to predict these two forms of emotional distress over time. Participants were 451 college students (273 females) who completed self-report measures of rumination, worry, depression, and anxiety at two time points separated by 6–8 weeks. Results indicated that both worry and rumination prospectively predicted anxiety, whereas neither thought process prospectively predicted depressive symptomatology. Although females reported elevated levels of worry and rumination compared to males, gender did not moderate any of these effects. Based on these findings, it appears that repetitive thought in the form of both worry and rumination contributes to anxiety, whereas neither thought process contributed to the development of depressive symptomatology in the present sample. Post-hoc analyses raise the possibility that previously documented associations between rumination and depression may have been partially driven by criterion contamination between measures of these constructs (see J. E. Roberts, E. Gilboa, & I. H. Gotlib, 1998).

Effects of Rumination and Initial Severity on Remission to Cognitive Therapy for Depression

Trait rumination, a tendency to focus on depressive symptoms and negative information, is associated with longer and more severe episodes of depression. This study examined whether trait rumination was also associated with initial remission from unipolar depression in Cognitive Therapy, which we hypothesized would target this coping style. Eighty one patients completed measures of depressive severity and rumination before and after 16–20 sessions of procedurally determined Cognitive Therapy. Pre-treatment rumination and severity were generally associated with later initial remission and lower odds of achieving remission. Limited evidence also suggested that for the most severe patients, rumination was associated with earlier initial remission and greater odds of achieving initial remission. Cognitive Therapy was associated with significant reductions in both rumination and severity. Results suggest that (1) pre-treatment assessment of rumination and severity could help to plan treatment course and (2) Cognitive Therapy is associated with changes in cognitive coping styles.

Rumination and Vegetative Symptoms: A Test of the Dual Vulnerability Model of Seasonal Depression

The Dual Vulnerability Model of seasonal affective disorder proposes that the cognitive-affective symptoms of seasonal depression are the result of an interaction of a diathesis of cognitive vulnerability to depression and the stressor of seasonal vegetative change. Two studies examined this hypothesis employing a within-subject design with daily data on vegetative and cognitive-affective depressive symptoms. Study 1 included a subclinical sample and a trait measure of ruminative response style. Study 2 included a clinical sample and reports of actual ruminative thoughts and behaviors in response to fatigue. Results of mixed linear model analyses in both studies supported the hypothesis that rumination moderates the relationship between the vegetative symptoms and the cognitive-affective symptoms of seasonal depression. The extension of the model to other subtypes of depression is considered.

The Role of Rumination and Reduced Concreteness in the Maintenance of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Following Trauma

Rumination has been linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression following trauma. A cross-sectional (N = 101) and a prospective longitudinal study (N = 147) of road traffic accident survivors assessed rumination, PTSD and depression with self-report measures and structured interviews. We tested the hypotheses that (1) rumination predicts the maintenance of PTSD and depression and (2) reduced concreteness of ruminative thinking may be a maintaining factor. Rumination significantly predicted PTSD and depression at 6 months over and above what could be predicted from initial symptom levels. In contrast to the second hypothesis, reduced concreteness in an iterative rumination task was not significantly correlated with self-reported rumination frequency, and did not consistently correlate with symptom severity measures. However, multiple regression analyses showed that the combination of reduced concreteness and self-reported frequency of rumination predicted subsequent PTSD better than rumination frequency alone. The results support the view that rumination is an important maintaining factor of trauma-related emotional disorders.

Anxiety Sensitivity and Health Anxiety in a Nonclinical Sample: Specificity and Prospective Relations with Clinical Stress

The present study examines the association between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and symptoms of hypochondriasis (a pattern of intense health anxiety) in a nonclinical sample. Findings from study 1 (n = 498) revealed a significant association between AS and health anxiety even after controlling for symptoms of depression and negative affect. However, the association between AS and health anxiety was not moderated by stress levels. Subsequent analysis did reveal a specific association between AS for physical concerns and health anxiety when controlling for other AS dimensions. Contrary to predictions, AS did not significantly predict residual change in symptoms of health anxiety over a 12-week period (n = 195) in Study 2. However, exploratory analyses suggest that some AS dimensions (e.g., physical concerns) may be more predictive of some facets of health anxiety (e.g., body vigilance) than others (e.g., illness severity). Findings from this study are discussed in the context of future research on the role of AS in the development of hypochondriasis.

Ruminative Responses to Negative and Positive Affect Among Students Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

Rumination in response to negative affect has been found to predict the onset, severity, and duration of depressive symptoms. Few researchers, however, have considered rumination within bipolar disorder, nor have studies considered parallel responses that might intensify positive affect. The current study examined self-reported rumination in response to both negative and positive affect among people diagnosed via the SCID with BPD (n = 28), major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 35), or no mood disorder (n = 44). Participants completed the Ruminative Response Scale and the Responses to Positive Affect Questionnaire about their dispositional tendencies. Results indicated that compared to control participants, people with BPD and MDD endorsed heightened rumination in response to negative affect, but only those with BPD endorsed elevated rumination in response to positive affect. Within BPD, ruminative responses to negative affect were explained by depressive symptoms. Goals for understanding responses to negative and positive affect in BPD are suggested.

Perceived Family Environment and Symptoms of Emotional Disorders: The Role of Perceived Control,Attributional Style,and Attachment

Findings from decades of research suggest that a perceived lack of parental care and overprotection are positively related to later symptoms of emotional disorders in children and adolescents. The present study used a cross-sectional design to evaluate models investigating reported family environment during childhood, current attachments, control-related cognitions, and current symptoms of emotional disorders in adolescence. It was hypothesized the effect of a perceived controlling and rejecting family environment during childhood would influence current depression and anxiety, and that these effects would be partially accounted for by the quality of current attachments, perceived control, and attributional style. A sample of 234 university students was assessed. Regression analyses of variables, including analyses of indirect effects, were conducted. As predicted, current attachment, perceived control, and attributional style helped to account for relationships between some family variables, and depression and anxiety. Findings are discussed with respect to the interplay of family variables and models of emotional disorders.

Contributions of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale to Measuring Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

The first objective of this study was to separate the contributions of the Cognitive Style Questionnaire (CSQ) and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) to maladaptive cognitive patterns in their relations to symptoms of depression and their potential developmental origins: emotional maltreatment, parents’ typical feedback styles, and parents’ dysfunctional attitudes regarding their offspring. Other objectives were to examine these relations in the context of symptoms of anxiety and to learn whether selected aspects of the Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression Project (CVD Project; Alloy, & Abramson, 1999) would generalize to a distinctive sample (n = 98). The same relations between the DAS and the CSQ and depression and developmental origins emerged as in the CVD Project,  but relations with the DAS were somewhat more robust.

Flexibility and Negative Affect: Examining the Associations of Explanatory Flexibility and Coping Flexibility to Each Other and to Depression and Anxiety

Recent research on vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety has begun to de-emphasize cognitive content in favor of the responsiveness of the individual to variations in situational context in arriving at explanations of events (explanatory flexibility) or attempts to cope with negative events (coping flexibility). The present study integrates these promising avenues of conceptualization by assessing the respective contributions of explanatory and coping flexibility to current levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. Results of structural equation modeling support a model of partial mediation in which both explanatory flexibility and coping flexibility independently contribute to the prediction of latent negative affect, with coping flexibility partially mediating the influence of explanatory flexibility.

The Impact of Intensive Mindfulness Training on Attentional Control,Cognitive Style,and Affect

To evaluate the impact of an intensive period of mindfulness meditation training on cognitive and affective function, a non-clinical group of 20 novice meditators were tested before and after participation in a 10-day intensive mindfulness meditation retreat. They were evaluated with self-report scales measuring mindfulness, rumination and affect, as well as performance tasks assessing working memory, sustained attention, and attention switching. Results indicated that those completing the mindfulness training demonstrated significant improvements in self-reported mindfulness, depressive symptoms, rumination, and performance measures of working memory and sustained attention, relative to a comparison group who did not undergo any meditation training. This study suggests future directions for the elucidation of the critical processes that underlie the therapeutic benefits of mindfulness-based interventions.

Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression and Axis II Personality Dysfunction

The study of common vulnerabilities to depression and personality disturbance is important given that depression and Axis II personality disorders exhibit high rates of comorbidity and comorbid personality dysfunction is associated with longer duration of depressive episodes, increased risk of relapse, and poorer outcome. Further, it has been demonstrated that a relationship exists between cognitive vulnerabilities to depression, such as negative cognitive style and dysfunctional attitudes, and personality dysfunction. This study sought to further explore the relationship between cognitive vulnerability to depression and Axis II pathology by examining links between personality dysfunction, cognitive risk status, and rumination in a sample with no current Axis I disorders, while controlling for current and past depression. At high vs. low cognitive risk for depression, 349 undergraduates completed diagnostic interviews and self-report questionnaires during Phase I, Phase II, and Time 1 of the Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression (CVD) project. As expected, cognitive risk and rumination were related to overall Axis II pathology. Cognitive risk status was also significantly related to several personality disorder dimensions, including paranoid, schizotypal, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive. Rumination was uniquely related to the borderline and obsessive-compulsive dimensions. Our findings confirm and expand upon the relationship between cognitive vulnerabilities to depression and personality dysfunction.

Computer-Based Intervention for Anxious and Depressive Symptoms in a Non-Clinical Population

This research was designed to examine the efficacy of a brief cognitive-behavioral psychoeducation model as an intervention for depressive and anxious symptoms, based on the Cognitive-Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP). One hundred fifty two participants were randomly assigned to the control and prevention groups. These participants completed symptom ratings of depression and anxiety at baseline, and again eight weeks later. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) revealed a significant effect of group, with the intervention group showing lower symptom scores at the follow-up session. The implications of this study include the development of the CBASP method as a computer-based prevention and intervention strategy.

Depressive Rumination and Directed Forgetting: An Examination of Encoding Style

The present study investigated the impact of depressive rumination on encoding style using the item-cued directed forgetting procedure. High dysphoric (N = 40) and low dysphoric (N = 40) students were randomly allocated to either a rumination or distraction induction. Participants were shown intermixed negative, positive, and neutral words on a computer screen that were followed by instructions to remember or forget each word. High dysphoric participants in both the rumination and distraction conditions exhibited standard directed forgetting effects; i.e., better recall of to-be-remembered than to-be-forgotten words, for all word types. These findings do not support the proposal that rumination enhances the encoding of negative information in high dysphoric participants. Findings are discussed with reference to the contribution of retrieval processes, and with consideration of the application of the directed forgetting paradigm to affective disorders.

The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity in Eating Pathology

Background  In past research, anxiety sensitivity (AS) has been identified as a risk factor for anxiety, mood, and alcohol problems. Little work, however, has examined the relationship between AS and eating pathology. We predicted that individuals high in AS would have elevated rates of eating disorder symptoms as measured by the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Methods  Participants in two studies—one undergraduate sample (N = 88) and one clinical sample (N = 96)—were assessed for anxiety sensitivity and eating disorder symptoms. Results  In both samples, AS was significantly related to EDI-Bulimia scores, controlling for depressive symptoms, trait anxiety symptoms, and impulsivity. In the clinical sample, AS was also significantly related to EDI-Drive for Thinness, controlling for the same covariates. A follow-up analysis suggested that the relationship between AS and EDI eating disorder symptoms was mediated by EDI-Interoceptive Awareness. Limitations  Both studies were cross-sectional, which prohibits causal interpretations. The follow-up mediational analysis must be interpreted with caution due to overlap between the measures of AS and interoceptive awareness. Because of a small sample size and significant comorbidity, the exploratory results analyzing diagnostic categories in Study 2 must be interpreted with caution. Conclusions  AS has a statistically significant relationship to certain eating disorder symptoms measured by the EDI. Future research should investigate whether high AS individuals utilize certain eating behaviors in an effort to regulate somatic symptoms of anxiety.

Negative Life Events,Self-Perceived Competence,and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults

Despite consistent support for Cole’s (1990, 1991) competency-based model of depression in children and adolescents, no studies have examined this model in adult samples and few have focused on congruence between domains of self-perceived competence and specific forms of negative life events. Addressing this gap in the current cross-sectional study, we found that forms of self-perceived competence may both moderate and partially mediate the link between negative events and young adults’ current depressive symptoms. Specifically, there was evidence for both the partial mediating and moderating roles of perceived global self-worth and self-perceived scholastic competence. In contrast, perceived social acceptance and negative social events appeared to be independent correlates of depressive symptoms.

Desire for Control, Sense of Control and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms

While control-related cognitions have often been implicated in discussions of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), empirical investigations of the relationship between control-constructs and OCD symptoms have been relatively limited. In this article it was hypothesized that OCD symptoms may be linked with a higher desire to control (DC), but a lower sense of control (SC) over the self and environment, leading to motivation for compulsive symptoms. This hypothesis was investigated in an analogue population, using regression analyses controlling for depression and anxiety. Consistent with predictions, it was found that higher levels of DC and lower levels of SC were associated with higher levels of OCD-related beliefs and symptoms. While control cognitions were linked with the OCD-related beliefs of perfectionism and the over-estimation of threat, they did not relate to cognitions concerning the importance of/need to control thoughts. With respect to specific OCD-symptoms, control cognitions were most strongly related to contamination obsessions/washing compulsions. Implications for theory and treatment are discussed.

A Multi-wave Web-based Evaluation of Cognitive Content Specificity for Depression,Anxiety, and Anger

This study tested the cognitive content specificity hypothesis of Beck’s cognitive theory using a web based report of mood and cognitions for that day completed once a week for 5 weeks. The use of a multi-wave design and structural equation modeling allowed for the separation of occasion-specific variability from over-time stability, thereby increasing sensitivity to the relatively brief changes in negative affect typical of student populations. To further increase specificity, an expanded set of cognitive themes was tested for depression, anxiety, and anger. Consistent with models indicating that these mood states share a general negative mood, all cognitions had a significant non-specific relationship to all three mood states. For tests of occasion-specific cognitive content specificity, thoughts of Transgression were incrementally specific to angry mood whereas Defectiveness, Hopelessness, and Abandonment were each specific to depressed mood. Failure was more strongly related to depression and anxiety than anger. Contrary to hypotheses, both Dependence and Vulnerability to Harm were non-specific only.

Cognitive Biases in Childhood Anxiety, Depression, and Aggression: Are They Pervasive or Specific?

This study investigated the extent to which children’s negative information processing biases are pervasive across the cognitive modalities of attention, judgment, and memory and, further, whether such biases are specifically associated with anxiety, depression, and/or aggression. 133 children between the ages of 8 and 14 years were assessed on an attention allocation task, a vignette interpretation measure, and a memory recall task. Children also completed anxiety and depression inventories, and were rated by teachers on a measure of aggression. Overall the results suggested a predominantly pervasive negative bias associated with childhood psychopathology, with some evidence of specificity. The canonical correlation analyses indicated that high levels of anxiety, depression, and aggression were associated with biases: attention to negative information, interpretation of ambiguous situations as negative, and preferential recall of negative words. Above this general bias, anxiety displayed a specific association with attention to negative information in the univariate analyses.