School-Aged Children's Depressive Rumination is Associated with Their Reactivity to Sadness but not Fear

Abstract

It is well documented that a ruminative response style is associated with greater risk for depression in children and adults. Less is known about the association between rumination and stress reactivity, particularly among children. Similarly, the extent to which depressive rumination is associated with general reactivity to negative emotion, or more specifically to sadness, has not received sufficient attention. The current study examines the association between depressive rumination and stress reactivity in response to a mild laboratory stressor in school-aged children. A diverse sample of 94 children between the ages of 8 and 12 participated in this 2-session study in which they reported on their tendency to engage in depressive rumination. Children's cardiovascular reactivity (operationalized as respiratory sinus arrhythmia) was assessed while they completed a task in which they read vignettes depicting children experiencing sadness and fear. Children also reported on their emotional reaction to the sad and fear vignettes, and we assessed the length of time it took them to respond to these questions (reaction time). Rumination was associated with greater decreases in respiratory sinus arrhythmia and greater increases in self-reported negative emotion in response to the sad but not the fear vignettes, suggesting that children higher in depressive rumination experienced more subjective arousal and showed evidence of greater regulatory effort when contemplating sadness. Rumination was associated with slower reaction time to both types of vignettes in one condition of the paradigm only. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for rumination and stress reactivity.

Depressed adolescents' pupillary response to peer acceptance and rejection: The role of rumination

“…Rumination was also associated with diminished pupillary response specifically to positive peer feedback. Results align with initial work indicating that ruminators experience greater physiological reactivity to interpersonal stimuli [18], and fail to sustain processing of positive stimuli [40]. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 RUMINATION AND PUPILLARY RESPONSE 18 Footnote 1.…”

“…Specifically, rumination has been linked with greater cortisol reactivity and delayed recovery in response to social stress and rejection in adults [15,16,17]; and cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal stress in children [18]. Therefore, depressed adolescents' higher on trait rumination may be more negatively impacted by peer feedback as the tendency to perseverate on past social 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 RUMINATION AND PUPILLARY RESPONSE 5 interactions places them at greater risk for a longer and more severe course of depression.…”

Rumination and multi-modal emotional reactivity

“…This study involved 8-to 12-year-old children who read vignettes depicting children experiencing sadness (Borelli et al, 2013). Trait rumination was associated with greater decreases in HRV, suggesting that children who habitually ruminated had greater reactivity to sadness (however, the effects became non-significant when adding depression in the model).…”

“…Thus, examining the association between rumination and reactivity across emotional domains has the potential for leading to a more comprehensive understanding of how and when rumination might be more or less detrimental. Second, many studies have focused on either trait (e.g., Borelli, Hilt, West, Weekes, & Gonzalez, 2013) or state rumination (e.g., Ottaviani, Shapiro, Davydov, Goldstein, & Mills, 2009). However, the juxtaposition of state and trait rumination is particularly relevant in light of a burgeoning literature documenting the spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies at the state level (e.g., Sheppes et al, 2014).…”

Depressed Adolescents’ Pupillary Response to Peer Acceptance and Rejection: The Role of Rumination

“…There is evidence to suggest that individuals’ high on trait rumination experience greater physiological arousal to social stimuli than nonruminators. Specifically, trait rumination has been linked with greater cortisol reactivity and delayed recovery in response to social stress and rejection in adults [15–17]; and cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal stress in children [18]. Therefore, depressed adolescents’ higher on trait rumination may be more negatively impacted by peer feedback as the tendency to perseverate on past social interactions places them at greater risk for a longer and more severe course of depression.…”