Rumination (Psychology)

Objective: For some, a stressor’s psychological and physiological influence ceases on removal; for others, the effects may persist through rumination. These repetitive, intrusive thoughts might prolong physiological stress responses. Previous studies produced mixed results, indicating a need to clarify the relationship between rumination and cortisol responses. The current study investigated whether a laboratory speech task is sufficient to elicit rumination and whether those who ruminated in response to the speech task have elevated cortis of responses. Additionally, whether trait depressive rumination follows a similar pattern was examined. It was hypothesized that those delivering speeches in a social-evaluative context would experience more posttask rumination and that greater posttask rumination would predict elevated cortisol responses.

Methods: Eighty-nine participants performed a speech in front of an evaluative panel (SET) or in one of two nonexplicitly evaluative conditions. Participants indicated the frequency of the thoughts they experienced during a 10-minute rest period after the speech as a measure of posttask rumination. Salivary cortisol was collected at five time points throughout the session.

Results: The SET condition elicited more posttask rumination than the nonexplicitly evaluative conditions. Posttask rumination was associated with amplified and prolonged elevations in cortisol across all conditions. Trait depressive rumination was associated with blunted cortisol responses in the SET condition. There was no association between trait depressive rumination and cortisol responses in the nonexplicitly evaluative conditions.

Conclusion: Results suggest that the nature of the relationship between cortisol activation and rumination may be contingent on how rumination is conceptualized and measured.

Cognitive processes play an important role in the impact of negative life-events on aperson. Intrusive and deliberate ruminations turn out to be important separate elements thatenable predicting the negative or positive psychological consequences of facing major life events. Efforts were undertaken to produce a Polish adaptation of the Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI), developed by A. Cann and-colleagues (2011). ERRI scores are treated as responses to a specific negative life event. The obtained data (N = 494) indicate that the Polish version of ERRI has good psychometric properties (Cronbach's α is .96 for intrusive rumination and .92 for deliberate rumination). Both forms of rumination are related to posttraumatic stress (mainly intrusive ruminations) and posttraumatic growth (deliberate ruminations).

The study examined attachment-related predispositions and patterns of cognition and emotion that contribute to
different secret-keeping experiences. Participants (n=380) reported on their secret keeping, rumination, attachment
anxiety, and attachment avoidance via online questionnaires. Results showed that both anxiety and avoidance were
positively associated with keeping a secret from a romantic partner, while only avoidance was associated with a greater
total number of secrets kept. The association between avoidance and rumination was partially mediated by perceptions
of a partner’s ownership rights to the secret and guilt for keeping the secret, such that those who were highly avoidant
were less likely to perceive a partner’s ownership rights. Finally, highly anxious participants reported higher levels of
rumination, which were mediated by feelings of guilt for keeping a secret. The study extends research on the link
between secrecy and rumination by offering a theoretical account based on attachment for why some people are more
likely to ruminate about their secrecy than others.

Metakognitif terapi (MKT) kuramsal dayanağı oldukça kuvvetli (kendini düzenleyen yürütücü işlev modeli), kanıta dayanan, bilişsel dikkat sendromu aracılığıyla psikopatolojiyi açıklayabilen, en az geleneksel bilişsel davranışçı terapi (BDT) kadar etkin olduğu gösterilmiş, zaman sınırlı (10-12 oturumdan oluşan), bozukluğa özgü veya transdiyagnostik bir yaklaşıma fırsat tanıyan, geleneksel BDT ile benzeşen; ancak bazı noktalarda da ayrışan, kendine has birtakım müdahale teknikleri olan (üstbilişsel inanışların ele alınması, endişe ya da ruminasyonun ertelenmesi, dikkatin modifikasyonu, düşüncelere mesafeli farkındalık, üstbilişsel yoldan sunulan alıştırma) ve mevcut haliyle farklı ruhsal hastalıklar, yaş grupları ve ortamlarda uygulanabilmesi geliştirilmeye açık bir psikoterapi yöntemidir. Bu gözden geçirme yazısında MKT’nin kuramsal dayanağı, klinik uygulama alanları ve etkinliğine değinilmektedir.

Brojne empirijske studije utvrdile su povezanost depresije i ruminiranja. Oslanjajući se na savremena istraživanja u okviru kognitivne paradigme, kao i na lično iskustvo u primjeni psihoterapije, došao sam do uvida da je za depresivne pojedince sa izraženim ruminiranjem, karakteristično da imaju nisko bezuslovno prihvatanje sebe i visoko izražena pozitivna vjerovanja o ruminiranju. Pored toga što je potvrđena povezanost depresije i ruminiranja na nekliničkom uzorku ispitanika sa našeg područja, ovim istraživanjem je, koliko je nama poznato, prvi put empirijski utvrđeno da postoji pozitivna korelacija između niskog bezuslovnog prihvatanja sebe i visoko izraženih pozitivnih vjerovanja o ruminiranju.
Koristeći prospektivnu istraživačku paradigmu, utvrdio sam da je bezuslovno prihvatanje sebe suštinski važna predikatorska varijabla za depresiju i ruminiranje. Osobe sa niskim bezuslovnim prihvatanjem sebe imaju povećan nivo i/ili oscilacije u ispoljavanju depresivnih i ruminativnih reakcija. Negativni životni događaji i pozitivna vjerovanja o ruminiranju u interakciji sa niskim bezuslovnim prihvatanjem sebe doprinose većoj izraženosti promjena u ovim reakcijama. Suprotno tome, visoko bezuslovno prihvatanje sebe utiče na stabilno i/ili smanjeno ispoljavanje depresivnih i
ruminativnih reakcija, uprkos različitom broju negativnih životnih događaja i/ili različitom stepenu pozitivnih vjerovanja o ruminiranju. Na kraju monografije nalaze se implikacije dobijenih rezultata za prevenciju i tretman depresije i ruminiranja, primjenom principa i tehnika kognitivnih i bihejvioralnih terapija.

Objective and methods: For individuals who ruminate, or mentally rehearse past stressful events, the physiological effects of a stressor may be longer lasting. This is well-supported within the cardiovascular domain. In the context of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and cortisol, the results are inconsistent. This review summarizes key theoretical and methodological issues that contribute to these mixed findings among the 15 studies to date that have examined the association between rumination and cortisol.
Results: State measures of rumination were consistently linked to increased cortisol concentrations. Stress-related rumination questionnaires were often positively associated with cortisol, whereas depression-related rumination scales predicted lower cortisol concentrations or were unrelated to cortisol. Rumination manipulations in the laboratory (e.g., ruminative self-focused writing tasks compared to distraction writing tasks) influenced cortisol concentrations, but often did not increase cortisol relative to baseline values. Studies that utilized social-evaluative stressor tasks to examine the relationship between rumination and cortisol levels generally showed that rumination predicted greater cortisol reactivity or delayed recovery. Results from studies examining rumination and basal cortisol or the cortisol awakening response were inconsistent.
Conclusion: The ways in which researchers conceptualize and assess rumination and the associated cortisol response influences the association between rumination and cortisol. Suggestions for future studies in this area of research are provided.

DEPRESSION IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH A REDUCED motivation to engage in behavior that will improve one's mood. This paper presents a study in which 175 university students listened to a self-selected piece of music on Youtube that made them sad. Post-and prelistening scores of depressed mood on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were taken, as were measures of rumination and scores on the Like Sad Music Scale (LSMS). Results indicate that listening to sad music via this medium can significantly increase feelings of depression in people with a tendency to depression (as suggested by high rumination scores). Furthermore, people with a tendency to depression demonstrate a liking for such music despite the potentially unhealthy consequences of listening to it.

Çalışmanın bu bölümünde travma ile ilgili uluslararası kabul görmüş tanımlamalardan yola çıkarak travmaya kırılganlık oluşturan ve travmanın oluşturabileceği kırılganlık faktörlerinden bahsedilmiştir. Örneğin cinsiyet, yaş, medeni durum, başka travmalara maruz kalmış olma, travmatik olayın niteliği/türü, travma süreci, kronik tıbbi rahatsızlıklar ya da kronik psikolojik bozukluklara sahip olma, yaşanılan ülke, kronikleşmiş yoksulluk, evsizlik, işsizlik durumlarında yaşamak ya da ayrımcılığa maruz kalmış olmak yaşanılan travmanın şiddetini ve etkilerini farklı düzeylere çekebilir. Daha sonra ise psikolojik bağlamda travma sonrası risk faktörleri ve baş etmeyi etkileyen faktörlere değinilmiştir. Bu faktörler travma sonrası oluşturulacak tedavi ya da müdehale yöntemlerinin niteliğini ve süresini etkileyeceğinde dikkat edilmesi gereken faktörlerdir. Bu faktörler arasında travma sonrası stres bozukluğu (TSSB), ruminasyon, tekrarlayan olumsuz öz-derin düşünceler, otomatik düşünceler, öğrenilmiş çaresizlik, düşük benlik saygısı, aşağılık duygusu, değersizlik hissi, korku, anksiyete duyarlılığı, sosyal kaygı, umutsuzluk, utanç ve suçluluk, melankoli ve yas (matem), intikam arzusu, öfke, saldırganlık, sosyal dışla/n/ma, yabancılaşma, yalnızlık ele alınarak kısaca açıklanmış; daha sonrasında travma ile etkileşiminden bahsedilmiştir.

1978 erschien eine der bis heute wichtigsten Studien über die Erzählbarkeit von Bewusstseinsprozessen: Dorrit Cohns Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction. 1 Cohn unterschied bekanntlich zwei grundlegende Typen: Bewusstseinsdarstellungen in Er-Erzählungen sowie Bewusstseinsdarstellungen in Ich-Erzählungen. Anhand zahlreicher Beispiele moderner Literatur von Édouard Dujardins Les lauriers sont coupés von 1887 über Valéry Larbauds Amants, heureux amants von 1921 bis hin etwa zu Simone de Beauvoirs »La femme rompue« von 1968 führte Cohn dies aus: Bewusstseinsdarstellungen in Er-Erzählungen seien bekannt als ›Psycho-Narration‹ im Sinne einer erzählenden Darstellung von Gedankengängen, als zitierte Monologe, bei welchen die Gedankengänge eines Helden dargestellt werden, sowie als erzählte Monologe, bei welchen die Bewusstseinsvorgänge des Helden durch den Erzähler in Form einer darstellenden Erzählung gestaltet sind. Bewusstseinsdarstellungen in Ich-Erzählungen begriff Cohn im Sinne einer Retrospektion, eines Übergangs von der Narration zum Monolog, wie etwa im Schlusskapitel aus Joyces Ulysses, sowie schließlich als autonomen Monolog, wie er paradigmatisch und äußerst singulär in Dujardins Les lauriers sont coupés vorliege. 2 Speziell der Begriff der Psychonarration ist es, den Cohn auf diese Weise in die Erzählforschung eingeführt und etabliert hat: Während etwa in der Erzähltheorie Gérard Genettes zwischen erzählter Rede und Gedankenrede (spoken discours and silent thought) nur unzureichend differenziert werde, sei der Begriff der Psycho-Narration nach Cohn in der Lage, einem »non-verbalen Denken« bzw. »den non-verbalen Formen des inneren Lebens« einen erzählerischen Ausdruck zu verleihen, denn: »This ›stuff‹ cannot be quoted -directly or indirectly; it can only be narrated.« 3 Ungeachtet der Einschränkung, die Genette diesbezüglich formulierte -vorauszusetzen sei nämlich, dass es ein solch »non-verbales Denken« überhaupt gebe, was keinesfalls gesagt ist -, 4 hat sich der Terminus ›Psycho-Narration‹ dennoch in der Erzähltheorie etabliert, wie die Einführung in die Erzähltheorie von Matías Martínez und Michael Scheffel zeigt: »Im Unterschied zu der im Deutschen oft gebrauchten Wendung Gedankenbericht ist dieser Terminus [Psycho-Narration] etwas weiter gefasst und berücksichtigt, dass im Rahmen dieser 1 Cohn, Dorrit: Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction, Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP 1978.

Various studies have verified the detrimental effects of rumination as a maintenance factor for depressive symptoms (Spasojević et al., 2004). Much less is known about the dynamics of rumination as an outcome of powerful stressors that trigger negative thoughts and affect (Lyubomirsky et al., 2015). The study contributes to the literature by investigating rumination among non-clinical, adult participants, using data from a convenience sample of white-collar employees from the US and Turkey (N = 383). We tested the mediational role of rumination in the relationship between job satisfaction and subjective well-being, controlling for the potential moderational effect from self-efficacy. In support of our hypotheses, the results reveal that people who are less satisfied with their job tend to ruminate more and, therefore, they feel less satisfied and less happy. The expected moderation effect of self-efficacy could not be supported by the data in our study. Our findings suggest that employees may find it difficult to offset rumination resulting from having low job satisfaction, even when they possess high self-efficacy.

This study examined an experiential avoidance conceptualization of depressive rumination in 3 ways: 1) associations among questionnaire measures of rumination, experiential avoidance, and fear of emotions; 2) performance on a dichotic listening task that highlights preferences for non-depressive material; and 3) psychophysiological reactivity in an avoidance paradigm modeled after the one used by in their examination of worry. One hundred and thirtyeight undergraduates completed questionnaire measures and participated in a clinical interview to diagnose current and past episodes of depression. Of those, 100 were randomly assigned to a rumination or relaxation induction condition and participated in a dichotic listening task, rumination/relaxation induction, and depression induction. Questionnaire measures confirmed a relationship between rumination status and avoidance; however, no significant effects were found in the dichotic listening task. Psychophysiological measures indicated no difference in physiological response to a depression induction among high ruminators (HR). However, low ruminators (LR) in the relaxation condition exhibited a larger IBI response than LR in the rumination condition. Overall, these results provide partial support for an avoidance conceptualization of depressive rumination. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The aim of the study is to investigate forgiveness levels of university students in terms of self-compassion, rumination and personality traits. A descriptive-correlational was used and self-administered questionnaires were conducted in this study. Participants of the study were 840 university students (460 females, 380 males) from different faculties of Pamukkale University chosen by random cluster sampling method. In this study, forgiveness was measured with Heartland Forgiveness Scale; self-compassion was measured with Self-compassion Scale; rumination was measured with Rumination about an Interpersonal Offense Scale, and personality traits were measured with Adjective Based Personality Scale. To examine the predictive power of self-compassion, rumination and personality traits on forgiveness, hierarchical regression analysis was used. According to the results of the study, among university students, self-compassion and extraversion are both significant predictors of self-forgiveness. And also, both of them predict self-forgiveness positively. However, rumination, neuroticism, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness of personality traits do not predict self-forgiveness. Also according to results, among university students, self-compassion, rumination and extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness are significant predictors of forgiveness of others. While self-compassion, extraversion and agreeableness predict forgiveness of others positively, rumination and conscientiousness predict negatively. Implications of these findings are discussed within the context of literature.

The present study examined whether particular emotion dysregulation dimensions were associated with suicidal ideation through their effects on ruminative thinking and hopelessness. Emerging adults (ages 18-25) with (n = 32) and without (n = 111) a suicide attempt history completed an emotion dysregulation measure at baseline and measures of rumination, hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation 2-3 years later. Multiple suicide attempters (n = 15) were distinguished by elevated scores on emotion dysregulation dimensions involving impulse control difficulties and inability to access effective emotion regulation strategies. The Strategies dimension, assessed at baseline, was significantly associated with both rumination and hopelessness at follow-up, and with higher ideation at follow-up. Rumination and hopelessness mediated the relation between Strategies and ideation, even when adjusting for depressive symptoms. Perceived inability to access emotion regulation strategies may increase vulnerability to suicidal ideation through its effects on rumination and hopelessness.

Introduction: Distressed individuals are often reluctant to seek help (Biddle et al., 2004); when they do, they are more likely to seek help from family and friends instead of mental health professionals (Ashley, 2005). Given the rising rates of mental disorders, it seems pertinent to examine factors that influence formal help-seeking behaviors (FHS). Research has suggested that personality traits are predictors of FHS (Rickwood et al., 1994; Tijhuis, 1990); recent studies have started to suggest that mindfulness influences academic help-seeking behaviors in college undergraduates (Howell et al., 2011). Further, other studies have shown that rumination is not only related to lowered help-seeking behaviors (e.g., Kakhnovets, 2011), but also lowered levels of mindfulness (Raes & Williams, 2010). Because of the complex interplay between rumination and mindfulness no study has yet investigated the impact of mindfulness on the relationship between rumination and FHS. In this study, we attempted to elucidate the relationship, and hypothesized that (1) mindfulness positively correlate with FHS, and that (2) rumination would mediate the mindfulness–FHS relationship. 
Method: 179 healthy undergraduates from National University of Singapore (21.8 ± 1.6 years of age; 56% female; 88% ethnically Chinese) participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants filled out a pen-and-paper questionnaire comprising validated measures of (1) mindfulness, the Five-factor Mindfulness Questionnaire – Short Form (FFMQ-SF; Bohlmeijer et al., 2011); (2) rumination, the Ruminative Response Style Questionnaire, (RRS; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991); and (3) FHS, the vignette version of the General Help-seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ-V; Wilson et al., 2005).
Results: Inconsistent with our first hypothesis, a preliminary look presented no significant relationship between mindfulness and FHS; however, further analyses revealed that this was because only two of the FFMQ-SF subscales, observing and non-judging, were correlated to GHSQ-V, rs = −.02 and .17, respectively. While rumination was negatively correlated with FHS, we discovered that only the reflection subscale of the RRS was correlated with aspects of the FFMQ-SF and the GHSQ-V. Mediation analyses revealed a full significant positive mediation of reflection on the link between non-judging and FHS (Sobel’s z = 2.46, p = .01) but a partial significant negative mediation of reflection on the link between observing and FHS (Sobel’s z = -2.10, p = .03).
Discussion and Conclusions: The results of our study preliminarily suggest that there are differential roles of both rumination and mindfulness on FHS. Clinicians and practitioners alike should be wary of wholeheartedly embracing all aspects of mindfulness-based interventions: the non-judging aspect of mindfulness improves FHS, while the observing aspect seems to lower FHS. Further, reflective, and not brooding, rumination seems to be the conduit through which mindfulness influences FHS. As such, in the interest of improving FHS, there is a greater urgency in emphasizing reflective rumination in the context of being non-judgmental, but not in that of being observant.

Reflection is considered necessary and beneficial within career learning and is deemed to be a condition for successful career-identity development. Indeed, reflection is generally seen as a key competency in learning how to respond effectively to a complex and dynamic post-modern world in which individuals are increasingly exposed to risk. Paradoxically however, reflection can itself form a risk when it results in rumination. It is therefore important to identify the conditions and personal (risk) factors that make reflection a detrimental or beneficial activity and to identify elements within career-learning interventions that promote benefit. The purpose here is to increase awareness about reflective versus ruminative processes and promote responsible use of interventions that aim to stimulate reflection in the process of career-identity formation. Based on the ''career writing'' method, the authors conclude that a successful career intervention must especially provide good facilitation and a safe holding environment.

Although mind-wandering occupies up to half of our waking thoughts, it is seldom discussed in philosophy. My paper brings these neglected thoughts into focus. I propose that mind-wandering is unguided attention. Guidance in my sense concerns how attention is monitored and regulated as it unfolds over time. Roughly speaking, someone's attention is guided if she would feel pulled back, were she distracted from her current focus. Because our wandering thoughts drift unchecked from topic to topic, they are unguided. One motivation for my theory is what I call the "Puzzle of The Purposeful Wanderer". On the one hand, mind-wandering seems essentially purposeless; almost by definition, it contrasts with goal-directed cognition. On the other hand, empirical evidence suggests that our minds frequently wander to our goals. My solution to the puzzle is this: mind-wandering is purposeless in one way---it is unguided---but purposeful in another---it is frequently caused, and thus motivated, by our goals. Another motivation for my theory is to distinguish mind-wandering from two antithetical forms of cognition: absorption (e.g. engrossment in an intellectual idea) and rumination (e.g. fixation on one's distress). Surprisingly, previous theories cannot capture these distinctions. I can: on my view, absorption and rumination are guided; mind-wandering is not. My paper has four parts. Section 1 spells out the puzzle. Sections 2 and 3 explicate two extant views of mind-wandering--the first held by most cognitive scientists, the second by Thomas Metzinger. Section 4 uses the limitations of these theories to motivate my own: mind-wandering is unguided attention.

Öz Bu çalışmanın amacı, bir grup üniversite öğrencisi üzerinde, Wade, Vogel, Liao ve Goldman (2008) tarafından geliştirilen Kişilerarası Hataya İlişkin Ruminasyon Ölçeği'nin (KHİRÖ) Türkçeye uyarlama çalışmasının yapılmasıdır. Araştırmaya, Pamukkale Üniversitesi'nde öğrenim gören 450 öğrenci ve 55 İngilizce öğretmen adayı katılmıştır. Ölçeğin dilsel eşdeğerliğini test etmek için, İngilizce öğretmenliği anabilim dalındaki öğretmen adaylarına ölçeğin İngilizce ve Türkçe formları uygulanmıştır. İngilizce ve Türkçe formlardan elde edilen puanlar arasında pozitif ve anlamlı ilişki (r=0.77) saptanmıştır. Doğrulayıcı faktör analizi sonuçları ölçeğin orijinal formda olduğu gibi tek faktörlü yapıda olduğunu göstermiştir (c 2 /sd=3,82, p<0.001, RMSEA=0.096, SRMR=0.04, GFI=0.97, AGFI=0.92, CFI=0.98). Ölçeğin madde toplam korelasyon katsayıları 0.48 ile 0.80 arasında değerlere sahiptir. Ölçeğin Cronbach alfa iç tutarlılık güvenirlik katsayısı 0.88 ve test-tekrar test korelasyonu 0.76 olarak bulunmuştur. KHİRÖ'nün ölçüt bağıntılı geçerliği için yapılan hesaplamalara göre ölçeğin negatif duygu ile pozitif yönde; pozitif duygu ve affetme ile negatif yönde anlamlı ilişkilere sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Ölçek için yapılan geçerlik güvenirlik analiz sonuçları, ölçeğin geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olarak kullanılabileceğini göstermektedir. Abstract Adaptation of the Rumination About an Interpersonal Offense Scale into Turkish The aim of the study is to adapt the Rumination about an Interpersonal Offense Scale (RIO) developed by Wade, Vogel, Liao and Goldman (2008) to Turkish on a group of university students. 450 students and 55 English teacher candidates from Pamukkale University participated in the study. The English and Turkish versions of the scale were carried out on English language teacher candidates to test the linguistic equivalence of the scale. Significant positive correlation was found (r=0.77) between English and Turkish version scores. The results of confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that this scale yielded a single factor like original form (c 2 /sd=3.82, p<0.001, RMSEA=0.096, SRMR=0.04, GFI=0.97, AGFI=0.92, CFI=0.98). Corrected item-total correlations ranged from 0.48 to 0.80. The Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was 0.88 and test-retest correlation was 0.76. Calculations for criterion-related validity of RIO were found to be positively related to negative affect; negatively related to positive affect and forgiveness significantly. The results of the validity and reliability analysis for the scale indicate that it can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool.

Perseverative cognition (i.e., rumination, worry) may amplify or maintain cortisol stress responses. The present study examined the effects of trait and state perseverative cognition (PC) on the cortisol awakening response (CAR). We hypothesized that trait PC and state (prior day's) PC would be associated with greater CARs. Undergraduates scoring high (N=77) and low (N=42) on trait PC were included. Participants reported worries about upcoming events and ruminations on past events that occurred throughout the day as a measure of state PC. The next morning, saliva samples were collected 0, 30, 45, and 60min after awakening to assess the CAR. Area under the curve (AUC) and 30-min increase (30-min Inc) were calculated to capture the salivary cortisol total output and increase relative to baseline in the hour after awakening. There was no effect of trait PC on the CAR. In contrast, reports of worrying and/or ruminating the night before predicted greater increases in cortisol concentration and total cortisol output compared to those who neither ruminated nor worried the night before. These effects were not accounted for by depressed mood, anxiety, sleep, or recent stressors. Findings suggest differential effects of trait and state PC on the CAR and highlight the importance of using proximal measures in examining individual differences in the CAR.

Self-pity is a frequent response to stressful events. So far, however, empirical research has paid only scant attention to this subject. The present article aims at exploring personality characteristics associated with individual differences in feeling sorry for oneself. Two studies with N = 141 and N = 161 university students were conducted, employing multidimensional measures of personality, control beliefs, anger, loneliness, and adult attachment. With respect to personality, results showed strong associations of self-pity with neuroticism, particularly with the depression facet. With respect to control beliefs, individuals high in self-pity showed generalized externality beliefs, seeing themselves as con¬trolled by both chance and powerful others. With respect to anger expression, self-pity was primarily related to anger-in. Strong connections with anger rumination were also found. Further¬more, individuals high in self-pity reported emotional loneliness and ambivalent-worrisome attachments. Finally, in both studies, a strong correlation with gender was found, with women reporting more self-pity reactions to stress than men. Findings are discussed with respect to how they support, extend, and qualify the previous literature on self-pity, and directions for future empirical research are pointed out.

Previous work has demonstrated that individuals high (vs. low) in forgiveness are faster to rate their current thoughts and feelings toward their transgressor (i.e., their state forgiveness), but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. The present study examined whether individual differences in rumination about the transgression would mediate the association between forgiveness and response time. Participants (N = 767) completed measures of trait forgiveness, rumination about the transgression, and state forgiveness (while response time was unobtrusively recorded). Trait forgiveness was significantly negatively associated with response time and this effect was mediated by lower rumination about the transgression. Results support the use of response time as an unobtrusive measure of forgiveness-related processes and further clarify the role of rumination about the transgression in the forgiveness–response time link.

In this study, cognitive and behavioral emotion regulation strategies (ERS) are classified by using machine learning models driven by a new local EEG complexity approach so called Frequency Specific Complexity (FSC) in restingstates (eyes-opened (EO), eyes-closed (EC)). According to international 10-20 electrode placement system, FSC is defined as entropy estimations in Alpha (8−12 Hz) and Beta (12.5−30 Hz) frequency band intervals of non-overlapped short EEG segments to observe local EEG complexity variations at 62 points on scalp surface. The healthy adults who use both rumination and cognitive distraction frequently are included in the 1st groups, while the others who use these strategies rarely are included in the 2nd group with respect to Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) scores of them. EEG data and CERQ scores are downloaded from publicly available database LEMON. In order to test the reliability of the proposed method, five different supervised machine learning methods in addition to two Extreme Learning Machine models are examined with 5-fold cross-validation for discrimination of the contrasting groups. The highest classification accuracy (CA) of 99.47% is provided by Class-specific Cost Regulation Extreme Learning Machines in EC state. Regarding cortical regions (anterio-frontal, central, temporal, parieto-occipital), the regional FSC estimations did not provide the higher performance, however, corresponding statistical distribution shows the decrease in EEG complexity at mostly anterior cortex in the 1st group characterized by maladaptive rumination. In conclusion, FSC can be proposed to investigate cognitive dysfunctions often caused by the use of rumination.

Highlights:
·        In the present study, a new quantitative single-channel EEG marker called as Frequency Specific Complexity for classiffication of maladaptive rumination at resting-state.
·        The reliability of the proposed method has been provided by using seven different 5-fold cross-validated classiffiers with respect to both states (eyes-opened vs eyes-closed) and cortical regions.
·        The new findings show that maladaptive rumination cause decrease neuronal complexity at mostly anterior regions.

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process involved in the risk, maintenance, and relapse of serious conditions including mood disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, and addictions. Processing mode theory provides a theoretical model to assess, research, and treat RNT using a transdiagnostic approach. Clinical researchers also often employ categorical approaches to RNT, including a focus on depressive rumination or worry, for similar purposes. Three widely used self-report questionnaires have been developed to assess these related constructs: the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ), and the Mini-Cambridge Exeter Repetitive Thought Scale (Mini-CERTS). Yet these scales have not previously been used in conjunction, despite useful theoretical distinctions only available in Mini-CERTS. The present validation of the methods in a Polish speaking population provides psychometric parameters estimates that contribute to current efforts to increase reliable replication of theoretical outcomes. Moreover, the following study aims to present particular characteristics and a comparison of the three methods. Although there has been some exploration of a categorical approach, the comparison of transdiagnostic methods is still lacking. These methods are particularly relevant for developing and evaluating theoretically based interventions like concreteness training, an emerging field of increasing interest, which can be used to address the maladaptive processing mode in RNT that can lead to depression and other disorders. Furthermore, the translation of these measures enables the examination of possible cross-cultural structural differences that may lead to important theoretical progress in the measurement and classification of RNT. The results support the theoretical hypothesis. As expected, the dimensions of brooding, general repetitive negative thinking, as well as abstract analytical thinking, can all be classified as unconstructive repetitive thinking. The particular characteristics of each scale and potential practical applications in clinical and research are discussed.

Background and purpose: Salivary alpha amylase (SAA) is used as a noninvasive biomarker to assess the activity of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the salivary alpha-amylase level under psychological stress and its relationship with rumination and the five personality traits. Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional study, 45 medical students who wanted to take final exams were selected using simple random sampling. NEO Personality Inventory-Short Form and emotional control questionnaire (ECQ) were completed two months before the exam. Saliva samples were taken from the students in non-stressful (control) and stressful conditions. SSA level was measured by photometry and data was analyzed using paired samples t-test, Pearson correlation analysis and stepwise regression. Results: Results: A significant difference was found between the mean of SAA level in the rest and under exam stress. Also, we found a significant correlation between SAA level with neuroticism (P<0.01), agreeableness (P<0.05) and rumination (P<0.01), explaining 49% of the variance of salivary alpha-amylase under stress exam. Conclusion: According to this study, the SAA level may increase in individuals with traits of neuroticism, agreeableness and ruminative thoughts in response to psychological stressors (e.g. exam). Also, measuring SAA levels could be used in assessing physiological responses to stress, as a non-invasive method.

The present chapter addresses the relations between worry, thoughts, and images. It is organized into three parts. Part 1 outlines T. D. Borkovec’s avoidance theory of worry, namely that worry reduces aversive imagery. Part 2 considers two mechanisms by which worry may reduce imagery, namely limitation of processing resources and verbal abstraction. Moreover, as there is little evidence for the first, but some evidence for the latter, Part 2 presents a new conceptual model of the relations between worry, thoughts, and images. Part 3 presents a brief outline beyond anxiety research on how avoidance theory and the verbal abstraction hypothesis may relate to the phenomenon of ruminative coping with depression.

This study investigated whether trait rumination predicts greater increases in salivary cortisol concentration and delayed recovery in response to a standardized, acute laboratory psychosocial stressor (modified Trier Social Stress Test). It also tested whether trait and state rumination predict reactivation of the cortisol response during later verbal recall of the stressor. Fifty-nine undergraduates (31 females; 28 males) completed the stress protocol and returned 2 weeks later for a surprise interview about the first session, conducted in either a supportive or unsupportive context. Participants completed a measure of trait rumination and reported negative thoughts about the stressor in the 2 weeks between sessions (state rumination). Trait rumination was associated with greater reactivity of salivary cortisol level and delayed recovery from the stressor, F(1,310) = 6.77, p < 0.001. It also predicted greater cortisol reactivity when recalling the stressor, but only for males in the unsupportive interview context, F(2,119) = 7.53, p < 0.001. This effect was heightened for males who also scored high on state rumination, F(2,119) = 7.53, p < 0.001. Rumination was not associated with cortisol responses to the interviews in females. The findings indicate that rumination may play a role in prolonging cortisol stress responses through delayed recovery and reactivation and that rumination disposition and the context of stressor recall are important in understanding the rumination-cortisol response association.

Conflict is common in ongoing relationships because partners have shared history and interdependence. Yet, bonding strengthens the relationship such that partners can understand disapproval from one another and the relationship can survive partner disagreements (Canary, Cupach, & Serpe, 2001). Gottman’s (1994; 2011) extensive research involving 12 studies with more than 3,000 couples and another 4,000 couples in therapy has found that arguing does not predict the end of relationships; it is how people argue (e.g., arguing with contempt, sarcasm, or ridicule versus arguing with concern, empathy, and cooperative impulses) that predicts the ending of relationships.

Rumination has been linked with a number of deleterious outcomes, though relatively little is known about self-evaluative and emotion processes by which it develops. The current investigation uses a prospective, longitudinal design and self-report measures to examine the role of contingent self-worth, perfectionism, negative emotion beliefs, and suppression of negative emotion in predicting the development of brooding and reflective forms of rumination among 168 adolescents (98 girls, 79.6% European-American) under- going the transition to high school (Mage 1⁄4 13.58). Results of structural equation modeling indicate that self-evaluative vulnerability (i.e., self-worth contingencies, perfectionism) and negative emotion beliefs, but not the suppression of negative emotion, predict brooding (but not reflective) rumination. The current study demonstrates how brooding is intertwined with views of self and core assumptions about emotion.

Written emotional disclosure (WED) has beneficial effects on health outcomes. However, its effectiveness is influenced by a number of variables. This exploratory study tested whether trait rumination, which comprises brooding, a maladaptive component, and reflection, an adaptive component, moderated the effects of WED on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in female participants.

Delays in seeking help often result in dire consequences. In this cross-sectional study, we explored whether rumination and mindfulness were potential predictors of help-seeking. One hundred and seventy-nine students in Singapore (Mean age = 21.8 years; 45% female; 88% Chinese; 71% affiliated with a religion) filled in measures of ruminative tendencies (Ruminative Response Styles), dimensions of mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), and help-seeking intentions (General Help Seeking Questionnaire). Our results show that mindfulness, specifically non-reactivity, strengthened (negatively mediated) and partially moderated the rumination–help-seeking relationship for women, but not men. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our results and future directions for this promising field.

Graduate students regularly report high levels of stress and burnout. Many of those same students utilize social support networks, which can act as stress buffers. This study evaluated excessive negative talk about issues (co-rumination) and its effects on that social support-to-burnout (emotional exhaustion) relationship and predicted that co-rumination would act as a suppressor variable. Graduate student volunteers (N = 213) reported their levels of social support, co-rumination, and emotional exhaustion. Data indicated that co-rumination did mediate the social support-to-emotional exhaustion relationship on 2 dimensions. This project purports that, although social support is important, the content of socially supportive interactions may also be important when attempting to intervene in stressful situations, especially when those interactions involve co-ruminative messages.