The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms

Several studies have shown that people who engage in ruminative responses t o depressive symptoms have higher levels of depressive symptoms over time, after accounting for baseline levels of depressive symptoms. The analyses r eported here showed that rumination also predicted depressive disorders, In cluding new onsets of depressive episodes. Rumination predicted chronicity of depressive disorders before accounting for the effects of baseline depre ssive symptoms but not after accounting for the effects of baseline depress ive symptoms. Rumination also predicted anxiety symptoms and may be particu larly characteristic of people with mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms.