Rumination as a transdiagnostic process: The role of rumination in relation to antisocial and borderline symptoms

The present study examined the influence of several forms of repetitive negative thinking on antisocial and borderline symptoms to identify underlying mechanisms that may contribute to the presentation and cooccurrence of these symptoms. Participants (N = 403), completed the Personality Assessment Inventory, the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4, and several measures of rumination/worry. Path analyses were conducted in which different forms of rumination/worry predicted antisocial and borderline symptoms across two personality disorder measures. Across both models tested, anger rumination emerged as the strongest predictor of both antisocial and borderline symptoms while worry negatively predicted antisocial symptoms. Rumination and worry explained substantially more variance in borderline symptoms compared to antisocial symptoms. This study is the first study to examine antisocial symptoms in relation to forms of rumination/worry and highlights the differential relations of rumination/worry to antisocial and borderline symptoms using a multi-measure approach. Further, this study highlights the importance of examining types of repetitive negative thinking, specifically rumination, as potential transdiagnostic processes.