Do daily mood fluctuations activate ruminative thoughts as a mental habit? Results from an ecological momentary assessment study

Examining the moderating role of depressive symptoms on the dynamic interplay between cognitive reappraisal and rumination: Evidence from experience sampling

The dynamic view of emotion regulation (ER) posits that ER is a temporally dynamic process unfolding over time. Cognitive reappraisal and rumination, two extensively investigated ER strategies, are implicated in depression. However, it remains unclear whether these two strategies exhibit reciprocal relations in real-world contexts, and whether such relations vary across baseline depressive symptoms. To address this, we conducted two experience sampling studies and applied residual dynamic structural equation modeling (RDSEM). Results of the RDSEM revealed significant bidirectional associations between cognitive reappraisal and rumination in the Chinese sample, whereas in the Belgian sample, only a unidirectional relationship was found where rumination predicts subsequent cognitive reappraisal. Additionally, both strategies demonstrated stable autoregressive effects. Interestingly, higher depressive symptoms predicted a lower autoregressive effect of cognitive reappraisal within the Chinese sample, while this was not the case in the Belgian sample. These findings highlight the importance of targeting factors such as dynamics in ER and its relationship with depression symptoms.

The temporal dynamics of perceived stress and depression in college students: An ecological momentary assessment

Previous studies have implied that stress is a risk factor for depression, but relatively little is known about how healthy individuals' stress dynamically affects depression as a mood in daily life. Therefore, an ecological momentary assessment study was conducted among 141 college students to test the temporal dynamic effect of daily perceived stress on depression and the underlying mediating and moderating role of rumination. Perceived stress, state rumination, and depression were measured using self-compiled questionnaire three times a day over 12 days. Trait rumination was measured with the Nolen-Hoeksema Ruminative Response Scale. Hierarchical linear models with HLM 7.0 were adopted to examine the mediation and moderation effects. In the mediation model, the greater the daily perceived stress at time t, the higher the state rumination at time t + 1, and state rumination at t + 1 positively predicted college students' depression at t + 2. In the moderation model, trait rumination significantly facilitated perceived stress-induced depression. These results verified that daily perceived stress could affect college students' depression directly or indirectly through the critical mediating mechanism of state rumination, and this effect would be exacerbated with a higher level of trait rumination.

Associations between daily affective experiences, trait and daily rumination on negative and positive affect: a diary study

BACKGROUND

Rumination has mostly been studied in relation to depression, however, it may also occur in response to positive emotions (i.e., positive rumination) and therefore may be a protective factor related to the maintenance of positive mood.

OBJECTIVE

We hypothesized that daily positive and negative affect would be associated with daily positive and negative rumination even after controlling for trait-level rumination.

METHOD

We carried out a diary study with university students (n = 178), where participants had to answer short surveys online about their daily affect and daily rumination every evening for 10 days. We analyzed our data with multilevel regression in R.

RESULTS

Daily positive and negative affect were significantly associated with daily negative and positive rumination, while trait-level rumination scores were not. Daily and trait-level rumination were moderately correlated (r = 0.333-0.440).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight that daily rumination plays a more significant role in daily emotional experiences than trait rumination across positive and negative valence domains. Daily negative affect appears to be more closely related to higher daily negative rumination than the lack of daily positive rumination, which could be relevant for intervention strategies.

Stress, repetitive negative thinking, and mental health in Chilean university students: an ecological momentary assessment study

Background

Mental disorders in university students are a growing attention problem in the international community due to their high prevalence and serious consequences. One possible reason is university students' difficulties in coping with stress. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic process that, when combined with stress, can lead to the development of various disorders. We aim to determine the effect of stress and RNT on predicting various mental health syndromes in university students across 7 days.

Method

Prospective observational study using Momentary Ecological Assessment (EMA) with the OURMIND Mobile App. On day one, 238 university students responded to the SCL-90R questionnaire for symptoms of depression, anxiety, hostility, obsession, psychoticism, paranoia, somatization, and interpersonal sensitivity; RNT styles questionnaires, RRS for rumination and negative reflection, PSWQ for worry; SISCO-II for term academic stress, and sociodemographic. EMA consisted of five assessments a day for 6 days; each time, the students answered items about academic and non-academic stress (EMA-stress), reactive RNT duration and intrusiveness (EMA-RNT process), and reactive RNT rumination, reflection, and worry (EMA-RNT content). On day eight, symptoms were re-assessed. Seven hierarchical stepwise linear regression models were used to test the predictive power of the study variables in the development of SCL-90R symptoms.

Results

When comparing models, adding baseline symptoms increased the models' predictive power in all symptom groups. In most cases, including EMA-stress generated greater predictive power, except for paranoia and interpersonal sensitivity. Adding the EMA-RNT process increased the prediction of paranoia and obsessive symptoms; for hostility symptoms, RNT styles increased predictive power. For the final regression models, considering the initial symptoms, the EMA-RNT process predicted the progression of symptoms in six out of eight groups, while EMA-non-academic stress predicted the remaining two. Additionally, living with other relatives or friends was a predictor of depressive symptoms.

Discussion

The stress of university life impacts the development of psychiatric symptoms in university students. These results provide evidence of RNT as a transdiagnostic process in several syndromic groups. Universal preventive programs should consider the impact of academic and non-academic stress on university students' mental health. Targeting RNT would also benefit selective preventive interventions.

Is informal practice associated with outcomes in loving-kindness and compassion training? Evidence from pre-post and daily diary assessments

We investigated whether informal meditation practice (i.e., self-reported application of meditative techniques outside a period of formal meditation) was associated with outcomes in smartphone-based loving-kindness and compassion training. Meditation-naïve participants (n = 351) with clinically elevated symptoms completed measures of psychological distress, loneliness, empathy, and prosociality at baseline and following a two-week intervention. Informal practice, psychological distress, and loneliness were also assessed daily. Steeper increases in informal practice had small associations with pre-post improvements in distress (r = -.18, p = .008) and loneliness (r = -.19, p = .009) but not empathy or prosociality. Using a currently recommended approach for establishing cross-lagged effects in longitudinal data (latent curve model with structured residuals), higher current-day informal practice was associated with decreased next-day distress with a very small effect size (βs = -.06 to -.04, p = .018) but not decreased next-day loneliness. No cross-lagged associations emerged from distress or loneliness to informal practice. Findings suggest that further investigation into a potential causal role of informal practice is warranted. Future studies experimentally manipulating informal practice are needed.

A Comparison of Affective-Cognitive States in Daily Life Between Emerging Adults With and Without Past-Year Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Although the literature suggests trait-like differences in affective and cognitive vulnerabilities between individuals with and without a history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), little is known about how these dispositional differences are experienced in the natural environment. The present study compares the intensity, inertia, interaction, and variability of affective (negative and positive affect) and cognitive states (rumination, self-criticism) in the everyday lives of individuals who do and do not engage in NSSI. Using experience sampling methodology (ESM), 60 emerging adults (ages = 18-22 years) with and without past-year NSSI (equally distributed) completed eight questionnaires per day for 12 days (in total, 96 questionnaires per participant), resulting in 4,587 assessments (median compliance = 83.3%; IQR = 71.9-91.7). In a dynamic structural equation modeling framework, dynamic parameters (i.e., mean intensity, carryover effects, spillover effects, and within-person variability) were evaluated using multilevel vector autoregressive models. Emerging adults who engage in NSSI experience higher intensity and greater variability of negative affect, rumination, and self-criticism, whereas those who do not engage in NSSI experience higher intensity and lower variability of positive affect. In addition, past-year NSSI predicted stronger affective-cognitive interactions over time, with stronger spillover effects of negative and positive affect on subsequent rumination and self-criticism in individuals who engage in NSSI. Depressive symptoms and trait levels of emotion dysregulation and self-criticism partially negated these differences. Our findings provide evidence that emerging adults who self-injure experience more negative affective-cognitive states in daily life and point to the potential relevance of boosting positive emotions to buffer negative cognitions.

How mood is affected by environment and upsetting events: The moderating role of psychological flexibility

OBJECTIVE

Patients suffering from psychological disorders report decreased quality of life and low mood. The relationship of these symptoms to daily upsetting events or environments, and in the context of active coping mechanisms is poorly understood. The present study thus investigates the association between mood, psychological flexibility, upsetting events, and environment in the daily life of outpatients.

METHOD

We investigated 80 outpatients at the beginning of treatment, using event sampling methodology (ESM). Patients' mood, occurrence of upsetting events, current environment, and psychological flexibility were sampled six times per day during a one-week intensive longitudinal examination. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs).

RESULTS

Participants reported worse mood the more upsetting events they experienced. Further, participants reported better mood when in private environments (e.g., with friends), and worse mood when at the hospital, compared to being at home. Higher levels of psychological flexibility, however, were associated with better mood, irrespective of the occurrence of upsetting events or current environment.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that mood is positively associated with psychological flexibility, not despite, but especially during the dynamic and context-specific challenges of daily life. Psychological flexibility may thus potentially act as a buffer against distress-provoking situations as patients go about their daily lives.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN.org identifier: ISRCTN11209732.

Thought habits and processing modes among Japanese university students do not influence dynamic associations between rumination and negative affect

The integrated model of rumination argues that two trait factors-negative thinking habits and processing modes-get people stuck in maladaptive rumination. There is little evidence showing whether these factors influence the daily dynamic associations between rumination and negative moods. To address this, in this study, we conducted an experience-sampling method on Japanese university students. We recruited 92 Japanese university students and assessed their daily rumination and negative affect (NA) eight times a day for seven days. We examined the effects of habits and processing modes on the dynamic associations between rumination and negative moods using dynamic structural equation modeling. We found that individuals were more likely to ruminate when they experienced NA. However, contrary to previous findings, this study's participants did not experience NA after engaging in rumination. Moreover, we did not detect any significant trait factor effect on these dynamic associations. Our findings imply that individuals are more likely to engage in rumination after experiencing NA, but the reverse association, particularly the autoregression of rumination, may not be maintained in natural daily life. Furthermore, negative thinking habits and processing modes may not influence the daily dynamic associations between rumination and NA among Japanese university students.

'Hidden' anger as a risk factor for operational health: An exploratory approach among French military personnel

Military personnel are repeatedly exposed to multiple stressors, and are sometimes characterized by high levels of anger. Evidence suggests that this anger can become dysfunctional, and impact the health status of populations chronically exposed to stress. In particular, rumination (understood as perseverative thoughts about a past event), provides a theoretical framework for investigating how anger may impact stress regulation abilities in military personnel declared fit for deployment. This exploratory study aimed therefore to examine the impact of the anger profile on psychological suffering in terms of burnout and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), along with the reactivity of the autonomic nervous system, measured as cardiac variability. One hundred and seventeen French soldiers were tested before deployment to Operation BARKHANE. Anger rumination, burnout, and PTSD symptoms were assessed using questionnaires, and cardiac variability was measured as the questionnaires were completed. The results revealed two profiles related to anger trait and anger rumination. Burnout and PTSD scores were higher among military personnel with high levels of anger trait and rumination, and this group also had lower parasympathetic activity and flexibility after completing the questionnaires. These results suggest that there may be a link between an angry profile and psychological suffering, notably burnout and PTSD. Rumination could be involved in this link, as it is associated with poor adaptation to stress in a military context. Prospective researches including post-deployment will establish whether this ruminative response can account for the relationship between problematic anger, stress regulatory capacities and psychological health in military populations.

The role of loneliness and negative schemas in the moment-to-moment dynamics between social anxiety and paranoia

Social anxiety and paranoia often co-occur and exacerbate each other. While loneliness and negative schemas contribute to the development of social anxiety and paranoia separately, their role in the development of the two symptoms co-occurring is rarely considered longitudinally. This study examined the moment-to-moment relationship between social anxiety and paranoia, as well as the effects of loneliness and negative schemas on both experiences individually and coincidingly. A total of 134 non-clinical young adults completed experience sampling assessments of momentary social anxiety, paranoia, and loneliness ten times per day for six consecutive days. Participants' negative-self and -other schemas were assessed with the Brief Core Schema Scale. Dynamic structural equation modelling revealed a bidirectional relationship between social anxiety and paranoia across moments. Loneliness preceded increases in both symptoms in the next moment. Higher negative-self schema was associated with a stronger link from paranoia to social anxiety; whereas higher negative-other schema was associated with a stronger link from social anxiety to paranoia. Our findings support the reciprocal relationship between social anxiety and paranoia. While loneliness contributes to the development of social anxiety and paranoia, negative self and other schemas appear to modify the relationships between the two symptoms.

The bidirectional associations of rumination with values-based action and depression among young adults in the school-to-work transition

BACKGROUND

School-to-work transition is crucial for young adults, requiring them to maintain their values-based action, even though this task is likely to cause rumination associated with depression. In the HExAGoN model, individuals with rumination tend to engage in abstract-analytic thought (AAT) but not in concrete-experiential thought (CET). Although this inflexible style of thought is assumed to decrease values-based action and increase depression, no empirical research has examined these relationships in young adults during their transition period. Therefore, this study examined the bidirectional relationships between AAT, CET, depression, and values-based action in young adults.

METHODS

A one-year five-wave longitudinal survey was conducted on 756 third-year university students who engaged in job searches in Japan. Cross-lagged panel model and random-intercept cross-lagged panel model were used to estimate the bidirectional relationships at the between-person and within-person levels, respectively.

RESULTS

AAT and CET had bidirectional associations with depression and values-based action at the between-person level. Furthermore, CET decreased depression and marginally improved values-based action at the within-person level.

LIMITATIONS

The study comprised only university students in Japan and had a high attrition rate.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that CET can reduce depression and improve values-based action in young adults undergoing the transition. It may also expand the understanding of the treatment and prevention of depression in young adults.

Exploring the longitudinal relationship between anger rumination and peer victimization when controlling for sadness rumination

Anger rumination is an unconstructive cognitive-emotion regulation strategy that bears negative adjustment outcomes in youth. Anger rumination is mostly examined as an outcome of prior peer victimization. Unidirectional links between maladaptive anger regulation and later peer difficulties have also been reported. Surprisingly, whether anger rumination and peer victimization are mutually related and reinforcing is poorly explored. The present study tested reciprocal associations between anger rumination and peer victimization in 367 5th graders (Mage = 10.53, SE = 0.16; 54.2% girls). To increase precision of findings sadness rumination was treated as a confounder. Self-reported data were obtained at two times, spaced 1 year. Cross-lagged analyses showed that peer victimization predicted increases in anger rumination but not vice versa, after controlling for sadness rumination. Victimized boys were found to be more at risk for endorsing anger rumination over time as compared to victimized girls. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

Anger Rumination in Early Adolescence: Risk Factor or Outcome of Depressive Symptoms? A Prospective Study

Anger rumination is a maladaptive cognitive-emotional process associated with aversive adjustment outcomes. Despite of evidence showing a close relationship between anger rumination and depressive symptoms across adolescence, their longitudinal relationship is still unknown. The goal of the present study was to examine the bidirectional association between self-reported anger rumination and depressive symptoms at two waves, spaced 1-year. Participants were 304 early adolescents (44.7% boys; M_age = 10.80 years, SD = 0.16). Cross-lagged analyses showed that depressive symptoms predicted increases in anger rumination but not vice versa. These relationships were consistent across boys and girls. Overall, the findings suggest that depressive symptoms may be a potential risk factor for anger rumination in early adolescence. Implications for preventions and treatments are also discussed.

How does burnout relate to daily work-related rumination and well-being of psychotherapists? A daily diary study among psychotherapeutic practitioners

OBJECTIVE

This is the first study to use a daily diary design to investigate the relationship between daily work-related rumination (WRR), daily well-being, and burnout symptoms among psychotherapeutic practitioners.

METHOD

In total, N = 58 psychotherapeutic practitioners participated in the study. For 4 weeks, the participants received a daily evening prompt on weekdays asking about their WRR and well-being. The burnout level of the psychotherapists was assessed using Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) prior to the daily diary period and afterward. The MBI measures the level of work-related distress on three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and personal achievement (PA). Two main analyses were performed: Based on the hierarchical structure of the data we performed random intercept and slopes models. These models examined the association between daily WRR and daily well-being, and the relationship between pre-burnout and daily WRR and daily mood. Secondly, linear regressions with the post-MBI subscales as criterion and the daily diary variables as predictors were calculated to assess their contribution to post-burnout.

RESULTS

The compliance rate in our study was 76.8%. Daily WRR and pre-assessment EE were associated with all aspects of reduced daily well-being: bad mood, increased nervousness, and tiredness after work. Daily tiredness and nervousness played a differential role in predicting post-burnout.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that daily rumination and pre-EE were associated with reduced daily well-being. As we are the first to present a daily diary study among psychotherapists, we examined the feasibility of the daily diary design in particular and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in general in this population. Compliance rates compared well with other EMA studies, indicating that EMAs were a feasible assessment option for psychotherapeutic practitioners.

Predictability of Seasonal Mood Fluctuations Based on Self-Report Questionnaires and EEG Biomarkers in a Non-clinical Sample

Induced by decreasing light, people affected by seasonal mood fluctuations may suffer from low energy, have low interest in activities, experience changes in weight, insomnia, difficulties in concentration, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Few studies have been conducted in search for biological predictors of seasonal mood fluctuations in the brain, such as EEG oscillations. A sample of 64 participants was examined with questionnaires and electroencephalography in summer. In winter, a follow-up survey was recorded and participants were grouped into those with at least mild (N = 18) and at least moderate (N = 11) mood decline and those without self-reported depressive symptoms both in summer and in winter (N = 46). A support vector machine was trained to predict mood decline by either EEG biomarkers alone, questionnaire data from baseline alone, or a combination of the two. Leave-one-out-cross validation with lasso regularization was used with logistic regression to fit a model. The accuracy for classification for at least mild/moderate mood decline was 77/82% for questionnaire data, 72/82% for EEG alone, and 81/86% for EEG combined with questionnaire data. Self-report data was more conclusive than EEG biomarkers recorded in summer for prediction of worsening of depressive symptoms in winter but it is advantageous to combine EEG with psychological assessment to boost predictive performance.

Ruminative Inertia, Emotion Regulation, and Depression: A Daily-Diary Study

Emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal are emotion regulation strategies that have been linked to the severity of depression. Recent research has shown that greater ruminative inertia (i.e., rumination that is more resistant to change across time) is also associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in clinical samples. However, it is unknown how tendencies to use suppression or reappraisal might be related to the inertia of rumination from day to day. After completing a baseline assessment of depressive symptoms and trait emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal use, undergraduates (n = 94) completed daily-diary questionnaires assessing rumination for two weeks. Both higher depressive symptoms and greater tendencies to use suppression predicted stronger ruminative inertia, while tendencies to use reappraisal were unrelated to ruminative inertia. These results suggest that maladaptive emotion regulation strategies may contribute to a pattern of rumination that is more resistant to change over time. They also provide the first evidence that ruminative inertia is positively associated with depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample.