Corumination
Encyclopedia
Co-rumination is a relatively new construct, referring to extensively discussing and revisiting problems, speculating about problems, and focusing on negative feelings with peers. Although it is similar to self-disclosure in that it involves revealing and discussing a problem it is more focused on problems and can be maladaptive.. While self-disclosure is seen as a positive aspect found in close friendships, some types of self-disclosure can be maladaptive. Co-rumination is a type of behavior that is positively correlated with both rumination
and self-disclosure and has been linked to a history of anxiety
because co-ruminating may exacerbate worries about whether problems will be resolved about about negative consequences of problems, and depressive diagnoses due to the consistent negative focus on troubling topics.. However, Co-rumination is also closely associated with high-quality friendships and closeness
..
or depression
, especially in adolescent girls, which may account for higher depression among girls than boys. For boys, lower levels of co-rumination may help buffer them against emotional problems if they spend less time with friends dwelling on problems and concerns, though less sharing of personal thoughts and feelings can potentially interfere with creating high-quality friendships. Co-rumination is also linked with romantic activities, which have been shown to correlate with depressive symptoms over time, because they are often the problem discussed among adolescents. Research suggests that within adolescents, children who currently exhibit high levels of co-rumination would predict the onset of depressive diagnoses than in children who exhibit lower levels of co-rumination. In addition, this link was maintained even when children with current diagnoses were excluded, as well as statistically controlling for current depressive symptoms. This further suggests that the relation between co-rumination and a history of depressive diagnoses is not due simply to current levels of depression .
Studies have also shown that co-rumination can predict internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Since co-rumination involves repeatedly going over problems again and again this obviously can lead to depression and anxiety. Catastrophizing, when one takes small possibilities and blows them out of proportion into something negative, is common in depression and anxiety and may very well be a result of constantly going over problems that may not be as bad as they seem.
differences. In high abusive supervision settings, the effects of co-rumination were shown to intensify its negative effects for women, while associating lower negative effects for men. In low abusive supervision settings, results show that there were no significant effects for women, but had negative outcomes for men. The study suggests the reason men are at risk for job dissatisfaction and depression in low stress supervision, is due to the gender differences at an early age. At a young age, girls report to co-ruminate more than boys (Rose 2002; Rose et al. 2007), and as they age girls' scores tend to rise, while boys' scores tend to drop (Rose, 2002). Haggard et al,(2011) suggests that in adulthood, men have less experience with co-rumination than women, however some men may learn skills through interacting with women or the interaction style with other men in adulthood has changed from activity-based to conversation-based. This suggests that not only do men and women co-ruminate differently, but that the level of stress may be a factor as well.
Rumination
The term rumination , meaning "to chew the cud," is used in several contexts:-Digestive rumination:* In animals, rumination is a part of normal digestion, in which the animal brings up swallowed food , chews it, and swallows it...
and self-disclosure and has been linked to a history of anxiety
Anxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
because co-ruminating may exacerbate worries about whether problems will be resolved about about negative consequences of problems, and depressive diagnoses due to the consistent negative focus on troubling topics.. However, Co-rumination is also closely associated with high-quality friendships and closeness
Closeness
* In mathematics, closeness defines what close means in a mathematical sense* In graph theory, closeness is the shortest path between one vertex and another vertex.* In social psychology, closeness is the personal distance between two people....
..
Developmental Psychology and Gender Differences
Girls are more likely than boys to co-ruminate with their close friends, and co-rumination increases with age in children. Female adolescents are more likely to co-ruminate ruminate than younger girls, because their social worlds become increasingly complex and stressful. This is not true for boys, however as age differences are not expected among boys because their interactions remain activity focused and the tendency to extensively discuss problems is likely to remain inconsistent with male norms . Unfortunately, while providing this support, this tendency may also reinforce internalizing problems such as anxietyAnxiety
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. The root meaning of the word anxiety is 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness,...
or depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, especially in adolescent girls, which may account for higher depression among girls than boys. For boys, lower levels of co-rumination may help buffer them against emotional problems if they spend less time with friends dwelling on problems and concerns, though less sharing of personal thoughts and feelings can potentially interfere with creating high-quality friendships. Co-rumination is also linked with romantic activities, which have been shown to correlate with depressive symptoms over time, because they are often the problem discussed among adolescents. Research suggests that within adolescents, children who currently exhibit high levels of co-rumination would predict the onset of depressive diagnoses than in children who exhibit lower levels of co-rumination. In addition, this link was maintained even when children with current diagnoses were excluded, as well as statistically controlling for current depressive symptoms. This further suggests that the relation between co-rumination and a history of depressive diagnoses is not due simply to current levels of depression .
Causes and Effects Co-rumination
Young women tend to turn to each other for social support, especially during the tumultuous years of adolescence. Co-rumination or talking excessively about each other's problems is common during these years. On a biological basis, a study has shown that there is an increase in the levels of stress hormones during co-rumination (Byrd-Craven, Geary, Rose, Ponzi, 2008). This suggests that since stress hormones are released during co-rumination, they may also be released in greater amounts during other life stressors.Studies have also shown that co-rumination can predict internalizing symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Since co-rumination involves repeatedly going over problems again and again this obviously can lead to depression and anxiety. Catastrophizing, when one takes small possibilities and blows them out of proportion into something negative, is common in depression and anxiety and may very well be a result of constantly going over problems that may not be as bad as they seem.
Effects in Daily Life
Co-rumination, or lack thereof, leads to different behaviors in daily life. For example, studies have examined the link between co-rumination and weekly drinking habits, specifically, negative thoughts. Worry co-rumination leads to less drinking weekly, while angry co-rumination leads to a significant increase in drinking. There have also been some gender differences found as well in the same study. In general, negative co-rumination increased the likelihood that women would binge drink weekly, versus men who would drink less weekly. When dealing with specific negative emotions, women drank less when taking part in worry co-rumination (as opposed to other negative emotions), while there appeared to be a lack of significant difference in men. (Ciesla et al., 2011)Therapy
Co-rumination treatment typically consists of cognitive emotion regulation therapy for rumination within a patient. This therapy focuses both on the patient themselves and their habits of continually co-ruminating with a friend or friends. Therapies may need to be altered depending on the gender of each patient. As suggest by Zlomke and Hahn (2010) men showed vast improvement in anxiety and worrying symptoms by focusing attention on how to handle a negative event "refocus on planning" whereas for women, accepting a negative event/emotion and re-framing it in a positive light was associated with decreased levels of worry. In other words, some of the cognitive emotion regulation strategies that work for men do not necessarily work for women and vice versa. Patients are encouraged to talk about their problems with friends and family members, but need to focus on a solution instead of focusing on the exact problem.Other research
Research on co-rumination in the workplace (Haggard et al., 2011) has shown that discussions about workplace problems have led to mixed results, especially regarding genderGender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
differences. In high abusive supervision settings, the effects of co-rumination were shown to intensify its negative effects for women, while associating lower negative effects for men. In low abusive supervision settings, results show that there were no significant effects for women, but had negative outcomes for men. The study suggests the reason men are at risk for job dissatisfaction and depression in low stress supervision, is due to the gender differences at an early age. At a young age, girls report to co-ruminate more than boys (Rose 2002; Rose et al. 2007), and as they age girls' scores tend to rise, while boys' scores tend to drop (Rose, 2002). Haggard et al,(2011) suggests that in adulthood, men have less experience with co-rumination than women, however some men may learn skills through interacting with women or the interaction style with other men in adulthood has changed from activity-based to conversation-based. This suggests that not only do men and women co-ruminate differently, but that the level of stress may be a factor as well.