Reflexión, rumiación negativa y desarrollo de sintomatología depresiva en adolescentes de sexo femenino

Abstract

Different studies have found that rumination is associated with negative consequences for wellbeing and mental health. This indicates that rumination could be one of the factors that contribute to mood and depressive disorders in female adolescents. Recently it has been suggested that the concept of rumination includes at least two different dimensions: reflection and negative rumination. The latter would be the most harmful. This research assessed, in a prospective basis, the influence of reflection and negative rumination n the development of depressive symptoms in a sample of 268 female adolescents. The first measurement was undertaken when the group was attending their first grade of secondary education and this assessment was repeated a year later. The results confirm that negative rumination is indeed a risk factor for development of depressive symptoms. It was also confirmed that the reflection showed no significant prospective associations but only an association with transactional analyses. These results confirm the need of refining the concept of rumination and the value of addressing the negative ruminative patterns when defining the strategies to prevent and treat depression in adolescents. Copyright 2009 by Sociedad Chilena de Psicología Clínica.