title: Ruminative coping among patients with dysthymia before and after pharmacotherapy.
abstract: The pivotal role of rumination in relation to other coping strategies was assessed in chronically depressed (dysthymic disorder) individuals versus nondepressed controls. Individuals with dysthymia demonstrated elevated use of rumination and other emotion-focused strategies (emotional expression, emotional containment, self- and other-blame). Among patients with dysthymia, rumination was linked to this limited array of emotion-focused efforts and diminished use of cognitive disengagement, whereas among controls, rumination was correlated with a broad constellation of problem- and emotion-focused strategies. Following 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy (sertraline), despite attenuation of depressed mood and reduced rumination, the limited relations between rumination and emotion-focused efforts persisted. Inflexibility in the ability to combine various coping efforts effectively may be characteristic of individuals with dysthymia, potentially increasing risk for recurrence.
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matheson
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ravindran
authors.forename: Zul
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Merali
authors.forename: Hymie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Anisman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020280:Sertraline / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline