Getting stuck in depression: the roles of rumination and emotional inertia.
Like many other mental disorders, depression is characterised by psychological inflexibility. Two instances of such inflexibility are rumination: repetitive cognitions focusing on the causes and consequences of depressive symptoms; and emotional inertia: the tendency for affective states to be resistant to change. In two studies, we tested the predictions that: (1) rumination and emotional inertia are related; and (2) both independently contribute to depressive symptoms. We examined emotional inertia of subjective affective experiences in daily life among a sample of non-clinical undergraduates (Study 1), and of affective behaviours during a family interaction task in a sample of clinically depressed and non-depressed adolescents (Study 2), and related it to self-reported rumination and depression severity. In both studies, rumination (particularly the brooding facet) and emotional inertia (particularly of sad/dysphoric affect) were positively associated, and both independently predicted depression severity. These findings demonstrate the importance of studying both cognitive and affective inflexibility in depression.
Department of Psychology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. peter.koval@ppw.kuleuven.be
Peter
P
Koval
Peter
P
Kuppens
Nicholas B
NB
Allen
Lisa
L
Sheeber
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data