Rumination as a Vulnerability Factor to Depression in Adolescents in Mainland China: Lifetime History of Clinically Significant Depressive Episodes

Abstract

The current study tested the vulnerability and sex differences hypotheses of the response styles theory of depression (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). Participants included 494 tenth-grade students (M = 15.25 years, SD = 0.47) recruited from two secondary schools in Beijing, China. Participants completed self-report measures assessing rumination and neuroticism as well as a semistructured clinical interview assessing current and past clinically significant depressive episodes. Higher levels of rumination were associated with a greater likelihood of exhibiting both a current depressive episode and a past history of depressive episodes even after controlling for neuroticism. Higher levels of rumination were also associated with greater severity and duration of current depressive episodes and greater severity of past depressive episodes even after controlling for neuroticism. Contrary to the sex differences hypothesis of the response styles theory, girls and boys did not differ in levels of rumination.

The research reported in this article was supported by a research grant from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada awarded to John R. Z. Abela.

Notes

Note: RMB = renminbi.

Note. CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio; K–SADS = Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children; Current-DX = current depressive disorder diagnosis; Past-DX = past depressive disorder diagnosis; Sex = a coded variable whereby 0 = female and 1 = male; Neuroticism = Five Factor Personality Inventory, Neuroticism subscale; Rumination = Response Styles Questionnaire, Rumination subscale.

*p ≤ .05. **p ≤ .01. ***p ≤ .001.

Note. K-SADS = Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children; Severity = sum of ratings for individual symptoms; Duration = number of weeks depressive episode lasted; Sex = a coded variable whereby 0 = female and 1 = male; Neuroticism = Five Factor Personality Inventory, Neuroticism subscale; Rumination = Response Styles Questionnaire, Rumination subscale.

*p ≤ .05. ** p ≤ .01. ***p ≤ .001.

¹We also examined univariate associations between rumination and each of our dependent variables. Consistent with the results from our multivariate analyses, higher levels of rumination were associated with a greater likelihood of exhibiting a current depressive episode (r = .24, p < .001), greater severity (r = .18, p < .001) and duration (r = .25, p < .001) of current depressive episodes, a greater likelihood of having experienced a past depressive episode (r = .17, p < .001), and greater severity (r = .22, p < .001) but not duration (r = .08, ns) of past depressive episodes.