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Rumination as a transdiagnostic factor in depression and anxiety
Katie A McLaughlin1, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
1Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, 180A Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. katie_mclaughlin@hms.harvard.edu
Behaviour Research and Therapy
|January 18, 2011
Summary
Rumination fully explains the link between depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents and adults. Targeting rumination may help treat co-occurring emotional disorders.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- High comorbidity rates in mental disorders necessitate identifying transdiagnostic factors.
- Rumination is implicated in depression and anxiety, but its role in their co-occurrence is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate rumination as a transdiagnostic factor for depression and anxiety.
- To examine rumination's role in concurrent and prospective associations between depression and anxiety symptoms.
Main Methods:
- Two longitudinal studies involving adolescents (N=1065) and adults (N=1317).
- Statistical mediation analyses to assess rumination's role.
Main Results:
- Rumination fully mediated the concurrent link between depression and anxiety in adolescents.
- Rumination partially mediated this link in adults.
- Rumination fully mediated prospective associations between depression and anxiety in both age groups.
Conclusions:
- Rumination is a significant transdiagnostic factor for depression and anxiety.
- Findings support targeting rumination in transdiagnostic treatments for emotional disorders.
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