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Ruminative Responses to Negative and Positive Affect Among Students Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder

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Abstract

Rumination in response to negative affect has been found to predict the onset, severity, and duration of depressive symptoms. Few researchers, however, have considered rumination within bipolar disorder, nor have studies considered parallel responses that might intensify positive affect. The current study examined self-reported rumination in response to both negative and positive affect among people diagnosed via the SCID with BPD (n = 28), major depressive disorder (MDD; n = 35), or no mood disorder (n = 44). Participants completed the Ruminative Response Scale and the Responses to Positive Affect Questionnaire about their dispositional tendencies. Results indicated that compared to control participants, people with BPD and MDD endorsed heightened rumination in response to negative affect, but only those with BPD endorsed elevated rumination in response to positive affect. Within BPD, ruminative responses to negative affect were explained by depressive symptoms. Goals for understanding responses to negative and positive affect in BPD are suggested.

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Notes

  1. For ethical reasons, IDD-L and HYP data was not linked with study participant id. As a result, statistical analyses of these measures were not conducted for study participants

  2. Two unpublished reports have been prepared based on data gathered with this sample, focused on cognitive responses to failure and success, and elevated expectancies for the future in bipolar disorder

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lori Eisner, Dan Fulford, Chris Miller, Jason Esteves, William Arguelles, Jennifer Earnest, Bianca Stefan, Allie Grace, Pamela Baker, Johanna Malaga, and Andrea Garcia for assistance in data collection and S.T. Calvin for suggestions during analyses of data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Coral Gables, FL, 33124, USA

    Sheri L. Johnson & Stephanie McMurrich

  2. Pennsylvania State University Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA

    Gavin McKenzie

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  1. Sheri L. Johnson
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  2. Gavin McKenzie
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Correspondence to Sheri L. Johnson.

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Johnson, S.L., McKenzie, G. & McMurrich, S. Ruminative Responses to Negative and Positive Affect Among Students Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. Cogn Ther Res 32, 702–713 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9158-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9158-6

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