Screening for rumination and brooding may be a feasible method of identifying adolescents at high risk for depression

The purpose of this study was to explore the usefulness of a standardized measure of rumination and brooding (Ruminative Response Scale [RRS]), to accurately identify adolescents at risk for depression. Participants (N=111; mean age=13.06 years) completed standardized measures in a cross-sectional study. ROC analyses yielded high area under the curve estimates for the RRS (.94, p<.001) and the brooding subscale (.91, p<.001), indicating both are excellent at discriminating between adolescents at high and low risk for depressive symptoms. Findings suggest depression prevention may benefit from screening for and targeting rumination or brooding with adolescence.