Nonlinear Associations Between Co-Rumination and Both Social Support and Depression Symptoms

ABSTRACT

Co-ruminating about one's problems appears to involve both beneficial self-disclosure and harmful rumination, suggesting that moderate levels may be the most adaptive. This study used nonlinear regression to determine whether moderate levels of self-reported co-rumination in relationships with a sibling, parent, friend, and romantic partner are linked to the highest levels of self-perceived social support and lowest levels of self-reported depression symptoms in 175 emerging adults (77% female; M = 19.66 years). As expected, moderate co-rumination was associated with high social support across all four relationship types, but, somewhat unexpectedly, high levels of co-rumination were also associated with high social support. As predicted, moderate levels of co-rumination with friends and siblings were associated with low levels of depression. Contrary to hypotheses, high levels of co-rumination were associated with high depression within romantic relationships. Co-rumination with a parent did not have a linear or quadratic association with depression. These findings suggest that high co-ruminating in supportive relationships and to a lesser extent low co-ruminating in unsupportive relationships are maladaptive interpersonal processes but that co-rumination's relation to depression depends on the co-ruminating partner. Psychotherapies for depression may target these maladaptive processes by supporting clients' development of balanced self-focused negative talk.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• family relations
• interpersonal relations
• parent-child relations
• peer relations
• social interaction

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alyssa M. Ames-Sikora

Alyssa M. Ames-Sikora is a graduate student at Georgia State University. Her research interests include risk and resilience factors for depression and anxiety in children, adolescents, and young adults.

Meghan Rose Donohue

Meghan Rose Donohue is a graduate student at Georgia State University. Her research focuses on children's development of empathy, guilt, and prosocial behaviors and the relation of these factors to children's internalizing problems.

Erin C. Tully

Erin C. Tully is an associate professor at Georgia State University. Her research interests include the roles of empathic responding, emotion processing, and parent factors in the development of depression and anxiety.