NCJ Number
226434
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 19-37
Date Published
February 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study examined co-rumination’s cross-sectional association with depressive symptoms and positive friendship qualities.
Abstract
Results indicate that co-rumination is cross-sectional and positively related to depressive symptoms and positive aspects of friendship, including friendship security and communication. Further results show that girls who co-ruminate more often see themselves as more interpersonally competent in both same and opposite sex relationships. Co-rumination, on average, did not predict increases or decreases in depressive symptoms. This fails to support the notion that co-rumination, on its own, is a maladaptive, depressive coping mechanism, as well as the idea that co-rumination is an adaptive form of support seeking. One type of anxiety, social anxiety, correlated negatively with co-rumination when controlling for depressive symptoms, displaying the opposite pattern as depression. Also co-rumination was shown to be associated with higher levels of romantic experiences; early adolescent girls with more romantic involvement may have more problems to co-ruminate about compared to girls with minimal romantic experiences. Co-rumination predicted increases in depressive symptoms for girls with greater romantic experiences and decreases for girls with fewer. Eighty-three early adolescent girls (7th and 8th grade) participated with a parent as part of a larger study on adolescent relationships. Tables, figure, and references