From brooding to detachment: Rumination longitudinally predicts an increase in depersonalization and derealisation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Clinical Neuroscience

Background:

• Depersonalization-derealization (DEP-DER) is a dissociative experience linked to psychopathology and distress.
• The etiological factors contributing to DEP-DER are not fully understood.
• Rumination is proposed as a potential antecedent to DEP-DER.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the longitudinal relationship between rumination and DEP-DER.
• To investigate whether rumination predicts future DEP-DER symptoms.
• To determine if DEP-DER symptoms predict future rumination.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal self-report study was conducted with a mixed clinical and community sample of 98 participants.
• Participants completed questionnaires monthly for six months.
• Data were analyzed using multilevel linear modeling with time-lag analysis.

Main Results:

• Levels of rumination and DEP-DER symptoms increased and decreased simultaneously.
• Rumination levels at one month predicted higher DEP-DER symptoms in the following month.
• DEP-DER symptoms did not longitudinally predict increased rumination.

Conclusions:

• Rumination may be an antecedent to DEP-DER, rather than the reverse.
• This finding offers a potential explanation for DEP-DER frequency in anxiety and depressive disorders.
• Further research should explore sleep quality and emotion regulation as potential mediators.