Rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus: effects on mood, dysfunctional attitudes and cortisol stress response
- PMID: 18485265
- DOI: 10.1017/S0033291708003553
Rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus: effects on mood, dysfunctional attitudes and cortisol stress response
Abstract
Background: Although aggravating effects of rumination on dysfunctional cognitions and endocrine stress responses have been proposed, experimental studies testing these assumptions are lacking. In parallel, mindfulness theory suggests beneficial effects of mindfulness on dysfunctional cognitions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of induced rumination, distraction and mindful self-focus on mood and dysfunctional attitudes and to assess the possible impact of induced rumination on participants' cortisol responses.
Method: Sixty university students were subjected to negative mood induction and subsequently randomly assigned to a rumination, distraction or mindful self-focus condition. The latter included statements focusing on self-acceptance and awareness of the breath. Four saliva cortisol samples were selected during the session.
Results: Compared to induced rumination, distraction showed a clear beneficial effect on the course of dysphoric mood, whereas a mindful self-focus did not. In contrast to distraction and mindful self-focus, participants induced to ruminate showed significant increases in dysfunctional attitudes from baseline to post-induction. Although rumination was not itself linked to higher cortisol responses, participants scoring high on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI)-II who were induced to ruminate showed a smaller decrease in cortisol levels than those scoring low on the BDI-II.
Conclusions: This study indicates that rumination as a dysfunctional mode of cognitive processing is able to maintain depression-linked dysfunctional thought content. Furthermore, our study revealed preliminary indications for a link between induced rumination and the cortisol stress response in vulnerable individuals.
Comment in
-
Research letter: emotional reactivity to induced rumination predicts 1-year levels of depressive symptoms.Psychol Med. 2009 Jul;39(7):1226-8. doi: 10.1017/S0033291709005704. Epub 2009 Apr 16. Psychol Med. 2009. PMID: 19368746 No abstract available.
Similar articles
-
Rumination, distraction, and mindful self-focus in depressed patients.Behav Res Ther. 2009 Mar;47(3):224-30. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2008.12.005. Epub 2008 Dec 27. Behav Res Ther. 2009. PMID: 19166993 Clinical Trial.
-
Decreased cortisol response to awakening is associated with cognitive vulnerability to depression in a nonclinical sample of young adults.Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007 Feb;32(2):199-209. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2006.12.007. Epub 2007 Feb 8. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2007. PMID: 17291694
-
Ruminative and mindful self-focused processing modes and their impact on problem solving in dysphoric individuals.Behav Res Ther. 2010 Aug;48(8):747-53. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.04.007. Epub 2010 Apr 27. Behav Res Ther. 2010. PMID: 20494334
-
[Mood induction procedures: a critical review].Encephale. 2008 Jun;34(3):233-9. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2006.08.003. Epub 2008 Jan 22. Encephale. 2008. PMID: 18558143 Review. French.
-
[Rumination and distraction: selected findings related to the response styles theory].Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2011 Mar;61(3-4):126-32. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1248266. Epub 2010 Mar 11. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol. 2011. PMID: 20225165 Review. German.
Cited by
-
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of emotion regulation on cortisol.Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2020 Dec 11;5:100020. doi: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2020.100020. eCollection 2021 Feb. Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2020. PMID: 35754452 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Strength-based parenting and stress-related growth in adolescents: Exploring the role of positive reappraisal, school belonging, and emotional processing during the pandemic.J Adolesc. 2022 Feb;94(2):176-190. doi: 10.1002/jad.12016. Epub 2022 Feb 9. J Adolesc. 2022. PMID: 35353416 Free PMC article.
-
From Self-Esteem to Selflessness: An Evidence (Gap) Map of Self-Related Processes as Mechanisms of Mindfulness-Based Interventions.Front Psychol. 2021 Nov 22;12:730972. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730972. eCollection 2021. Front Psychol. 2021. PMID: 34880805 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Emotion-related constructs engaged by mindfulness-based interventions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Mindfulness (N Y). 2021 May;12(5):1041-1062. doi: 10.1007/s12671-020-01561-w. Epub 2020 Nov 26. Mindfulness (N Y). 2021. PMID: 34149957 Free PMC article.
-
Exploring the Dimensions of Smartphone Distraction: Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS).Front Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 8;12:642634. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.642634. eCollection 2021. Front Psychiatry. 2021. PMID: 33762981 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical