The development of rumination in New Zealand adolescents: is rumination a maladaptive coping strategy?

Abstract

Nolen-Hoeksema (1991) proposes that females are more likely than males to ruminate in response to a depressed mood, extending and intensifying their depression. Moreover, she proposes that the use of rumination by female adults is contributing to the higher rates of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) found in this population. The present study sought to investigate the development of the use of rumination in a New Zealand adolescent population and identify the point at which females employ this coping strategy more frequently than males. The present study combined two research areas: the stress literature and the rumination literature. This was achieved by placing rumination in the stress-coping framework as a possible maladaptive coping strategy, that could moderate or mediate the relationship between stress and depression. Everyday stress, rumination, and depressed mood were measured in a large cross-sectional study of 2,413 participants aged between 10 and 20 years. Mean group analyses revealed a rapid increase in the use of rumination by females between 12 and 15 years. At 13 years females engaged in significantly higher levels of rumination than males and continued to do so until 17 years. Moderation analyses revealed that rumination did not exacerbate the relationship between stress and depression for either gender and that rumination by males has the same effect on depressed mood as females. Mediation analyses revealed that the relationships among stress, rumination, and depression strengthened with age for both genders and that all three variables could act as partial mediators in the concurrent data reported here. Evidence suggests that rumination holds a unique relationship with depression and is therefore a maladaptive coping strategy. Possible reasons why females use this maladaptive coping strategy more frequently than males are discussed.