title: Effects of rumination on intrusive memories: does processing mode matter?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Excessive rumination following traumatic or highly distressing experiences has been proposed to be an important maintaining factor of posttraumatic stress symptoms. However, not all forms of repetitive thinking about a negative event appear to be dysfunctional. It has been suggested that the abstractness of thinking is critical for its symptom-maintaining effects. The present study tested this hypothesis using an experimental analogue design with participants who had experienced a recent negative life event.
  
  
  METHODS
  After a short symptom provocation task, participants (N=57) wrote about their negative experience in either an abstract-evaluative or a concrete-experiential way. Intrusive memories were assessed during the session and in the first 36 h after the session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In line with the expectations, participants in the abstract-evaluative condition showed less reduction of intrusive memories during the experimental session than those in the concrete-experiential condition, and showed a slower recovery in the 36 h following the session.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An analogue design was used. Therefore, results need to be replicated with survivors of traumatic events following DSM-IV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, the results support the idea that abstractness of thinking is responsible for the dysfunctional effects of rumination about a highly distressing or traumatic event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 15, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santa Maria
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Reichert
authors.forename: Susanna B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hummel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ehring
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013850:Thinking