Why, why, why?: Reason-giving and rumination as predictors of response to activation- and insight-oriented treatment rationales

This study examines the relationships among the reasons a person offers for depression, the tendency to ruminate in response to depression, and reacti ons to activation-oriented (AO) or insight-oriented (IO) treatment rational es. Adults from the community (N = 51) completed self-report measures of re ason-giving and rumination and rated the credibility of, and personal react ions to, AO and IO rationales presented in written and videotape formats. P articipants who gave more reasons for depression also tended to ruminate mo re in response to depressed mood. Reason-giving and rumination predicted lo wer credibility ratings and more negative personal reactions to the AO rati onale. Although no relationship was found between these variables and respo nse to the IO rationale, specific reasons were associated with different re actions to the two rationales. We discuss the roles of reason-giving and ru mination in predicting responses to psychotherapies for depression. (C) 199 9 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.