Ashley Borders

Could mindfulness decrease anger, hostility, and aggression by decreasing rumination?

Research suggests that rumination increases anger and aggression. Mindfulness, or present-focused and intentional awareness, may counteract rumination. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the relations between mindfulness, rumination, and aggression. In a pair of studies, we found a pattern of correlations consistent with rumination partially mediating a causal link between mindfulness and hostility, anger, and verbal aggression. The pattern was not consistent with rumination mediating the association between mindfulness and physical aggression. Although it is impossible with the current nonexperimental data to test causal mediation, these correlations support the idea that mindfulness could reduce rumination, which in turn could reduce aggression. These results suggest that longitudinal work and experimental manipulations mindfulness would be worthwhile approaches for further study of rumination and aggression. We discuss possible implications of these results.

Rumination partially mediates the associations between perceived ethnic discrimination, emotional distress, and aggression.

Research suggests that perceived ethnic discrimination is associated with poor psychological and physiological health. Rumination, or perseverative thoughts about negative experiences, may constitute a maladaptive coping strategy that mediates the associations between perceived discrimination, emotional distress, and aggression. Our sample consisted of 170 ethnic minority and 134 White American participants. For ethnic minority participants, we found a pattern of correlations consistent with rumination partially mediating a causal link between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms, hostility, anger, and aggression. In White participants, by contrast, the significant associations between perceived discrimination and these indices of emotional and behavioral distress were not statistically mediated by rumination. We discuss possible theoretical and clinical implications of these results.

Memory Predicts Changes in Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults: A Bidirectional Longitudinal Analysis

OBJECTIVES Although research indicates that depressive symptoms and memory performance are related in older adults, the temporal associations between these variables remain unclear. This study examined whether depressive symptoms predicted later memory change and whether memory predicted later change in depressive symptoms. METHODS The sample consisted of more than 14,000 adults from the Health and Retirement Study, a biannual longitudinal study of health and retirement in Americans older than age 50 years. Measures of delayed recall and depressive symptoms served as the main study variables. We included age, sex, education, and history of vascular diseases as covariates. RESULTS Using dynamic change models with latent difference scores, we found that memory performance predicted change in depressive symptoms 2 years later. Depressive symptoms did not predict later change in memory. The inclusion of vascular health variables diminished the size of the observed relationship, suggesting that biological processes may partially explain the effect of memory on depressive symptoms. IMPLICATIONS Future research should explore both biological and psychological processes that may explain the association between worse memory performance and subsequent increases in depressive symptoms.

Sleep problems may mediate associations between rumination and PTSD and depressive symptoms among OIF/OEF veterans.

Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans have high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and sleep problems. Identifying potential contributing factors to these mental health problems is crucial for improving treatments in this population. Rumination, or repeated thoughts about negative experiences, is associated with worse PTSD, depression, and sleep problems in nonveterans. Therefore, we hypothesized that rumination would be associated with worse sleep problems, PTSD, and depressive symptoms in OIF/OEF veterans. Additionally, we proposed a novel hypothesis that sleep problems are a mechanism by which rumination contributes to depressive and PTSD symptoms. In this cross-sectional study, 89 OIF/OEF veterans completed measures of trait rumination, sleep problems, and PTSD and depressive symptoms. Analyses confirmed that greater rumination was associated with worse functioning on all mental health measures. Moreover, greater global sleep problems statistically mediated the association between higher rumination and more PTSD and depressive symptoms. Specifically, sleep disturbance and daytime somnolence but not sleep quantity emerged as significant mediators. Although it is impossible with the current nonexperimental data to test causal mediation, these results support the idea that rumination could contribute to impaired sleep, which in turn could contribute to psychological symptoms. We suggest that interventions targeting both rumination and sleep problems may be an effective way to treat OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD or depressive symptoms.

Rumination moderates the associations between PTSD and depressive symptoms and risky behaviors in U.S. veterans

Risky behaviors, including unsafe sex, aggression, rule breaking, self-injury, and dangerous substance use have become a growing issue for U.S. veterans returning from combat deployments. Evidence in nonveteran samples suggests that risky behaviors reflect efforts to cope with and alleviate depressive and/or anxious symptoms, particularly for individuals with poor emotion-regulation skills. These associations have not been studied in veterans. Rumination, or repeated thoughts about negative feelings and past events, is a coping strategy that is associated with several psychopathologies common in veterans. In this cross-sectional study, 91 recently returned veterans completed measures of trait rumination, self-reported risky behaviors, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Analyses revealed that veterans with more depressive and PTSD symptoms reported more risky behaviors. Moreover, rumination significantly interacted with PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms (both β = .21, p < .05), such that psychiatric symptoms were associated with risky behaviors only for veterans with moderate to high levels of rumination. Although cross-sectional, these findings support theory that individuals with poor coping skills may be particularly likely to respond to negative mood states by engaging in risky behaviors. Implications include using rumination-focused interventions with veterans in order to prevent engagement in risky behaviors.

Rumination, Sexual Orientation Uncertainty, and Psychological Distress in Sexual Minority University Students:

This study examined associations between uncertainty about sexual orientation, rumination, and psychological distress in university students. We hypothesized that increased rumination would mediate associations between higher sexual orientation uncertainty and greater psychological distress. Furthermore, we hypothesized that these associations might differ for self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) versus heterosexual emerging adults. A sample of 207 university students completed questionnaires assessing sexual orientation uncertainty, rumination, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and aggression. Path analyses indicated that higher sexual orientation uncertainty was associated with greater rumination, depressive symptoms, and perceived stress. Furthermore, rumination mediated associations between sexual orientation uncertainty and all measures of psychological distress across the entire sample. However, multi-group analyses indicated that these associations emerged for LGB participants but not for heterosexuals. Results suggest that rumination may constitute a common but maladaptive coping response for sexual minorities facing sexual orientation uncertainty. Interventions for this population should focus on decreasing rumination.

Resilience During War: Better Unit Cohesion and Reductions in Avoidant Coping Are Associated With Better Mental Health Function After Combat Deployment.

Objective: The majority of individuals who endure traumatic events are resilient; however, we do not yet understand why some individuals are more resilient than others. We used data from a prospective longitudinal study Army National Guard and Reserve personnel to examine how unit cohesion (military-specific social support) and avoidant coping relate to resilience over the first year after return from deployment. Method: Soldiers (N = 767) were assessed at 4 phases: predeployment (P1), immediately postdeployment (P2), 3 months’ postdeployment (P3), and 1-year postdeployment (P4). Results: After controlling for predeployment avoidant coping and overall social support, higher unit cohesion was associated with a reduction in avoidant coping (from P1 to P3). This reduction in avoidant coping (from P1 to P3) mediated the relationship between unit cohesion (P2) and improvement in mental health function (from P1 to P3). Conclusions: The results are consistent with the hypothesis that higher unit cohesion may mitigate increases in avoidant coping in military personnel after a combat deployment and in turn may improve mental health function.

Rumination mediates the associations between sexual minority stressors and disordered eating, particularly for men.

PurposeSexual minority individuals experience unique minority stressors leading to negative clinical outcomes, including disordered eating. The psychological mediation framework posits that stress related to discrimination, internalized homonegativity, and concealment makes sexual minority individuals more vulnerable to maladaptive coping processes, such as rumination, known to predict disordered eating. The current study examined the influence of sexual minority stressors and rumination on disordered eating, and whether these associations differed between sexual minority men and women. We hypothesized that perceived discrimination, internalized homonegativity, and concealment would be positively associated with disordered eating, and that rumination about sexual minority stigma would mediate these associations.MethodsOne-hundred and sixteen individuals who identified as sexual minorities completed a survey study assessing perceived discrimination, internalized homonegativity, concealment, rumination about sexual minority stigma, and disordered eating.ResultsDiscrimination and concealment uniquely predicted disordered eating in both men and women. However, rumination emerged as a significant mediator for concealment and (marginally) for discrimination for men only. Internalized homonegativity was not uniquely associated with rumination or disordered eating for men or women.ConclusionsSexual minority men who experience discrimination and conceal their sexual orientation may engage in more disordered eating because they dwell on sexual minority stigma. We propose other potential mechanisms that may be relevant for sexual minority women.

The bidirectional associations between state anger and rumination and the role of trait mindfulness

Rumination is associated with exacerbated angry mood. Angry moods may also trigger rumination. However, research has not empirically tested the bidirectional associations of state rumination and anger, as experience sampling methodology can do. We predicted that state anger and rumination would be bi-directionally associated, both concurrently and over time, even controlling for trait anger and rumination. In addition, because mindfulness is associated with rumination and anger at the bivariate level, we examined the effect of trait mindfulness on the bidirectional association between state rumination and anger. We examined two hypotheses: (i) state rumination mediates the effect of trait mindfulness on state anger; and (ii) trait mindfulness weakens, or moderates, the bidirectional associations between state rumination and anger. In an experience-sampling study, 200 college students reported their current ruminative thinking and angry mood several times a day for 7 days. Mixed model analyses indicated that state anger and rumination predicted each other concurrently. In cross-lagged analyses, previous anger did not uniquely predict current rumination; previous rumination predicted current anger, although the effect was small. In support of our hypothesis, state rumination mediated the association between trait mindfulness and state anger. Additionally, trait mindfulness moderated the concurrent and cross-lagged associations between state rumination and anger, although the results were complex. This study contributes new information about the complex interplay of rumination and anger. Findings also add support to the theory that mindfulness decreases emotional reactivity. Aggr. Behav. 43:342-351, 2017.

The Relative Contributions of Impulsivity Facets to Drinking Outcomes

Objectives:Alcohol use continues to have a significant negative health and economic impact in the United States. Understanding factors that contribute to alcohol use and its related consequences remains an important goal of psychological research. One personality trait consistently shown to contribute to alcohol use and problems is impulsivity. The relationship between impulsivity and drinking is complex because impulsivity is a multifaceted construct, composed of urgency (rash responding to negative affect), lack of premeditation (action without planning), lack of perseverance (inability to persist in a task), and sensation seeking (pursuit of excitement). Previous research on the relation between the different facets of impulsivity and drinking outcomes has been limited by the problem of multicollinearity of predictors (ie, the intercorrelations among the impulsivity facets make their relative contributions to drinking outcomes difficult to interpret). Methods:The current study overcame this problem by analyzing the relationship between impulsivity and drinking outcomes using relative weights analysis, a technique that determines the proportion of variance explained in a dependent variable that is accounted for by each independent variable after taking into account multicollinearity of predictors. Results:Results revealed that (1) sensation seeking is the best predictor of alcohol use across the impulsivity facets, (2) urgency is the best predictor of alcohol-related consequences, (3) premeditation is important to the prediction of all alcohol use outcomes, and (4) perseverance may not uniquely explain alcohol use outcomes. Conclusions:It is concluded that facets of impulsivity differentially predict alcohol use outcomes.