The effects of rumination on internalising symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic among mothers and their offspring: a brief report

ABSTRACT

As a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, anxiety and depressive symptoms have risen among children and adults. However, it remains unclear why the effects of the pandemic are so salient for certain individuals. This study examined rumination, a well-established risk factor for internalising disorders, as a predictor of prospective increases in anxiety and depression symptoms in mothers and their offspring. Change in rumination during the pandemic was also examined as a predictor of symptom transmission at the dyadic level. Fifty-three biological mother–child dyads were recruited from two longitudinal studies that had completed their respective baselines prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mothers and youth (ages 9–15 years, 77.4% female) completed measures of depression and anxiety symptoms and rumination before and during the pandemic. Results revealed baseline rumination was positively associated with internalising symptom changes for mothers, but not youth. Moreover, pre-to-peri pandemic changes in rumination were associated with prospective increases in mother and youth internalising symptoms. Finally, results revealed a significant correlation for pre-to-peri pandemic depressive symptom change among mothers and youth; however, rumination did not mediate this association. Findings highlight changes in rumination as a potential mechanism for internalising symptom risk during the COVID-19 pandemic across development.

KEYWORDS:

• Rumination
• depression
• anxiety
• COVID-19
• stress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by NIMH Grant K23MH113793, Brain and Behavior Foundation Award, and Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation Fellowship awarded to K.L.B. The project was also supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, NIH (National Institutes of Health Institute of Mental Health), through Grant UL1TR002003. C.F. is supported by NIMH grant T32MH067631.