Ruminative and mood associations for age differences in social and directive reasons to think and talk about life experiences

Abstract

Reminiscing, or thinking and talking about our past experiences, can have mood enhancing effects. Rumination is implicated in reminiscence and yet has been shown to have negative effects on mood, with important differences between age groups. However, age differences in the effects of reminiscing on mood, and particularly the effects of rumination within reminiscence, are less explored. Two different age groups completed self-report measures of the positive directive (planning for present and future behaviors) and social (communication) uses of autobiographical memory, as well as maladaptive rumination and depression symptom severity. Young participants (Mean age: 21.82) ruminated more and reported greater frequency of using the directive and social functions of thinking and talking about past experiences than older adults (Mean age: 71.82). These reminiscence processes were also differentially associated with depression symptoms between age groups when tested in structural equation models. In older participants, but not young participants, the directive function was negatively associated with depression severity; in young participants, but not old participants, the social function was negatively associated with depression severity. Furthermore, although depressive and abstract rumination was directly positively related to depression scores in both samples, this association was inverted when the effect of rumination on depression was calculated through functions of reminiscence. The implications of these results for intervention development in older versus young adults, is discussed.

Relationship between rumination, self-compassion, and psychological health among Japanese university students: A cross-sectional study

“…Whereas previous studies have consistently suggested associations between higher ruminative tendencies and psychological health, the magnitude of these associations has been suggested to vary by age and/or cultural background. For example, Ricarte, Ros, Latorre, and Barry [ 62 ] reported that young participants in their twenties are more prone to ruminate than are older participants in their seventies. Regarding cultural differences, Tsai, Chang, Sanna, and Herringshaw [ 63 ] suggested that European Americans high in ruminative tendencies show lower levels of anxiety and depression when happiness is high, whereas Asian-Americans who tend to ruminate show high anxiety and depression regardless of happiness level.…”

The mediating role of religion and loneliness on the association between reminiscence functions and depression: a call to advance older adults' mental health

“…The final multivariate regression model showed that an increase in Bitterness Revival scores yielded a significant increase in depression and loneliness scores. This result could be explained by the fact that when older adults constantly focus on their negative life events and ruminate on painful memories, this could contribute to the development of psychological disturbances 38 . Previous studies 12,16,39 have shown that dwelling on painful memories and unresolved conflicts has various consequences for mental health, namely depression and loneliness.…”

“…Loneliness is strongly linked to depression; 38 loneliness might contribute to a person's re‐experiencing unresolved problems and repetitive negative thinking that emerge as depressive symptoms 16 . Preoccupation with a bitter past reflects an inability to fulfil social interactions.…”

“…This result could be explained by the fact that when older adults constantly focus on their negative life events and ruminate on painful memories, this could contribute to the development of psychological disturbances. 38 Previous studies 12,16,39 have shown that dwelling on painful memories and unresolved conflicts has various consequences for mental health, namely depression and loneliness. Depressive symptoms are underdiagnosed and undertreated in older adults due to their consideration as part of the normal ageing process and as a comorbidity with physical diseases.…”

Executive functions predict the trajectories of rumination in middle-aged and older adults: A latent growth curve analysis.

“…Since there may be potential differences in either EF or ruminative tendencies between middle adulthood and late adulthood, we include age as a moderator in our analyses. However, we were unable to outline any specific predictions due to the scant research on EF or ruminative differences between middle adulthood and late adulthood; most studies simply compare younger adults with older adults (Ferguson et al, 2021; Ricarte et al, 2020).…”