Co-rumination, anxiety, and maladaptive cognitive schemas: when friendship can hurt

Figures & data

Table 1 Description of the five Young schema domains

Disconnection and Rejection domain is predicted by the inability to establish secure and fulfilling relationships because persuaded that the needs for security, safety, stability, acceptance, and respect will not be met in a predictable manner. Typical family origin is instable (Abandonment); abusive (Mistrust/Abused); cold (Emotional Deprivation); too demanding (Defectiveness); lonely (Social Isolation).

Impaired Autonomy and Performance domain take into consideration the role of expectations about oneself/environment to interfere with one’s perceived ability/performance to separate (ie, separate from the parental figures), function independently. Typical family origin is unable to handle one’s everyday responsibilities in a competent manner (Dependence); undermining of child’s confidence (Vulnerability to Harm); excessively involved emotionally (Enmeshment); failing to reinforce child for performing competently outside family context (Failure).

Impaired Limits domain represent the difficulty into respecting the social and interpersonal rules, cooperating, making commitments, and reach realistic personal or long-term goals. Typical family origin is permissiveness, lack of direction or characterized by excessive competitiveness, and an inappropriate sense of superiority (Entitlement/Grandiosity); pervasive difficulty or refusal to exercise sufficient self-control and frustration tolerance (Insufficient Self-Control).

Other-Directedness domain represents the systematic tendency to pay too much attention to other’s needs, at the expense of one’s own. This is characterized by an excessive focus on the desires, feelings of others, in order to gain love/approval or avoid anger. Typical family origin is based on conditional acceptance (Subjugation); on voluntarily meeting the needs of others, to prevent causing pain to others, and to avoid guilt from feeling selfish (Self-Sacrifice); characterized by an overemphasis on status/money, as a means of gaining approval and attention (Approval-Seeking).

Overvigilance and Inhibition domain shows the tendency on suppressing one’s impulses, and choices rigid, internalized rules and expectations about performance/behavior, often at the expense of happiness, self-expression, and health. Typical family origin is focused on the negative aspects of life, ie, pain, humiliation, conflict, or guilt (Negativity); difficulty expressing vulnerability or communicating freely about one’s feelings and needs (Emotional Inhibition); meet very high internalized standards of behavior and performance, to avoid criticism (Unrelenting Standards); difficulty forgiving mistakes and intolerance/punitive against errors (Punitiveness).

Table 2 Correlations, reliability, and descriptive statistics for co-rumination, anxiety, and early maladaptive schema questionnaires (N=460)

	STICSA			YSQ					Descriptive statistics
	Tot	S	C	D/R	IA	OD	IL	O/I	α	M	SD
CRQ	0.207***	0.139**	0.227***	0.180***	0.265***	0.322***	0.204***	0.320***	0.95	2.73	0.76
STICSA-Tot		0.882***	0.915***	0.573***	0.610***	0.512***	0.474***	0.521***	0.89	1.76	0.45
STICSA-S			0.616***	0.397***	0.468***	0.370***	0.328***	0.345***	0.78	1.64	0.44
STICSA-C				0.617***	0.618***	0.539***	0.510***	0.574***	0.84	1.90	0.57
YSQ-D/R					0.655***	0.633***	0.652***	0.683***	0.95	2.10	0.58
YSQ-IA						0.681***	0.559***	0.613***	0.94	1.90	0.56
YSQ-OD							0.529***	0.663***	0.92	2.45	0.68
YSQ-IL								0.698***	0.87	2.40	0.61
YSQ-O/I									0.93	2.52	0.63

Note:

*** p<0.001;

** p<0.01.

Abbreviations: C, cognitive subscale; CRQ, Co-Rumination Questionnaire; D/R, Disconnection/Rejection; IA, Impaired Autonomy; IL, Impaired Limits; M, mean; OD, Other-Directedness; O/I, Overvigilance/Inhibition; S, somatic subscale; SD, standard deviation; STICSA, State Trait Inventory of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety; Tot, total scale; YSQ, Young Schema Questionnaire; α, Cronbach’s alpha.

Table 3 Mean, SDs, independent t-test values, p-values, and effect size estimates from examination of sex differences

	Female (n=254)	Male (n=206)	t	p-value	Cohen’s d
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
CRQ	2.84 (0.78)	2.60 (0.71)	3.39	0.001**	0.32
STICSA-Tot	1.81 (0.43)	1.70 (0.48)	2.40	0.017*	0.24
STICSA-S	1.69 (0.42)	1.58 (0.47)	2.56	0.011*	0.25
STICSA-C	1.94 (0.55)	1.84 (0.59)	1.81	0.071	0.18
YSQ-D/R	2.07 (0.54)	2.11 (0.63)	0.84	0.399	0.07
YSQ-IA	1.94 (0.53)	1.89 (0.59)	0.92	0.359	0.09
YSQ-OD	2.48 (0.55)	2.41 (0.68)	1.35	0.179	0.11
YSQ-IL	2.35 (0.58)	2.44 (0.65)	1.65	0.095	0.15
YSQ-O/I	2.48 (0.60)	2.57 (0.65)	1.53	0.127	0.14

Notes:

** p<0.01.

* p<0.05.

Abbreviations: C, cognitive subscale; CRQ, Co-Rumination Questionnaire; D/R, Disconnection/Rejection; IA, Impaired Autonomy; IL, Impaired Limits; OD, Other-Directedness; O/I, Overvigilance/Inhibition; S, somatic subscale; SD, standard deviation; STICSA, State Trait Inventory of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety; Tot, total scale; YSQ, Young Schema Questionnaire.

Table 4 Multiple mediation analyses

DV	M	a	b	c	c′	axb
STICSA-T	YSQ-D/R**	0.146±0.035***	0.193±0.043***	0.116±0.027***	0.004±0.023	0.047±0.016
	YSQ-IA***	0.194±0.031***	0.290±0.043***	–		0.094±0.020
	YSQ-O/I*	0.280±0.036***	0.101±0.043*	–		0.047±0.020
STICSA-S	YSQ-D/R*	0.146±0.035***	0.131±0.042**	0.072±0.027**	−0.001±0.025	0.033±0.014
	YSQ-IA***	0.194±0.031***	0.281±0.046***	–		0.093±0.020
STICSA-C	YSQ-D/R**	0.146±0.035***	0.280±0.054***	0.164±0.033***	0.014±0.027	0.054±0.017
	YSQ-IA***	0.194±0.031***	0.310±0.054***	–		0.080±0.019
	YSQ-O/I**	0.280±0.036***	0.175±0.052***	–		0.065±0.020

Notes:

*** p<0.001.

* p<0.01.

** p<0.05. All values = estimate±standard error (except Z).

Abbreviations: A, path between IV and mediator; b, path between mediator and DV; c, direct path (ie, path between IV and DV); C, cognitive subscale; D/R, Disconnection/Rejection; DV, dependent variable (ie, outcome variable); IA, Impaired Autonomy; IL, Impaired Limits; IV, independent variable (ie, predictor); M, proposed mediator; OD, Other-Directedness; O/I, Overvigilance/Inhibition; S, somatic subscale; STICSA, State Trait Inventory of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety; Tot, total scale; YSQ, Young Schema Questionnaire; c′, direct path after mediator is included in model; A×B, completely standardized indirect path.

Table 5 Alternative mediation analyses of schema domains with varying anxiety scales/subscales

IV	DV	M	a	b	c	c′	axb
YSQ-D/R	STICSA-T*	CRQ	0.243±0.059***	0.052±0.024*	0.449±0.030***	0.436±0.031***	0.107±0.027
	STICSA-S	CRQ	0.243±0.059***	0.029±0.025	0.306±0.033***	0.299±0.034***	0.009±0.009
	STICSA-C*	CRQ	0.243±0.069***	0.078±0.029**	0.606±0.036***	0.587±0.037***	0.034±0.014
YSQ-IA	STICSA-T	CRQ	0.355±0.056***	0.022±0.023	0.495±0.030***	0.487±0.032***	0.010±0.010
	STICSA-S	CRQ	0.355±0.056***	0.001±0.025	0.371±0.033***	0.371±0.034***	0.000±0.011
	STICSA-C	CRQ	0.355±0.056***	0.045±0.029	0.631±0.038***	0.615±0.041***	0.016±0.010
YSQ-OD	STICSA-T	CRQ	0.389±0.053***	0.021±0.026	0.375±0.030***	0.366±0.032***	0.011±0.014
	STICSA-S	CRQ	0.389±0.053***	0.005±0.027	0.263±0.032***	0.261±0.034***	0.003±0.014
	STICSA-C	CRQ	0.389±0.053***	0.040±0.032	0.497±0.036***	0.482±0.039***	0.027±0.022
YSQ-IL	STICSA-T*	CRQ	0.270±0.054***	0.055±0.025*	0.359±0.029***	0.344±0.031***	0.020±0.010
	STICSA-S	CRQ	0.270±0.054***	0.030±0.026	0.246±0.033***	0.238±0.034***	0.011±0.010
	STICSA-C*	CRQ	0.270±0.054***	0.082±0.030**	0.483±0.034***	0.461±0.037***	0.024±0.010
YSQ-O/I	STICSA-T	CRQ	0.402±0.050***	0.010±0.0216	0.383±0.030***	0.379±0.032***	0.006±0.014
	STICSA-S	CRQ	0.402±0.050***	0.002±0.027	0.251±0.032***	0.250±0.034***	0.001±0.015
	STICSA-C	CRQ	0.402±0.050***	0.018±0.030	0.528±0.037***	0.521±0.039***	0.008±0.014

Notes:

*** p<0.001.

** p<0.01.

* p<0.05. All values = estimate±standard error (except Z). Italic font indicates the significant path between mediator and DV.

Abbreviations: a, path between IV and mediator; b, path between mediator and DV; c, direct path (ie, path between IV and DV); C, cognitive subscale; D/R, Disconnection/Rejection; DV, dependent variable (ie, outcome variable); IA, Impaired Autonomy; IL, Impaired Limits; IV, independent variable (ie, predictor); M, proposed mediator; OD, Other-Directedness; O/I, Overvigilance/Inhibition; S, somatic subscale; STICSA, State Trait Inventory of Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety; Tot, total scale; YSQ, Young Schema Questionnaire; c′, direct path after mediator is included in model; A×B, completely standardized indirect path.