Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Neurocognitive Correlates of Rumination Risk in Children: Comparing Competing Model Predictions in a Clinically Heterogeneous Sample

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current study examined associations between rumination and executive function difficulties in preadolescent youth, using predictions outlined in the attentional scope and multiple systems models of rumination. This study aimed to (a) extend current conceptual models of rumination to youth, (b) clarify disparate model predictions regarding working memory updating (“updating”), inhibition, and shifting abilities, and (c) examine differential neurocognitive predictions between two forms of rumination, sadness and anger. One hundred and fifty-nine youths oversampled for ADHD and other forms of child psychopathology associated with executive dysfunction (aged 8–13; 53.5% male; 59.1% Caucasian) completed a battery of assessments, including self-report measures of rumination and computerized neurocognitive tasks. Multiple regression analyses were conducted assessing relations between rumination and each executive function, controlling for both sadness and anger rumination to assess their unique associations. Sadness rumination was associated with poorer updating (β = −0.18, p = 0.046) and shifting abilities (β = 0.20, p = 0.03) but not inhibition (β = −0.04, p = 0.62), offering partial support to the attentional scope and multiple systems models. In contrast, anger rumination was associated with better updating abilities (β = 0.20, p = 0.03) but not shifting (β = −0.15, p = 0.11) or inhibition (β = 0.08, p = 0.35). Together, these results suggest (a) developmental differences in the neurocognitive correlates associated with rumination risk in youth compared to findings from the adult literature, and (b) that the executive function correlates of children’s responses to negative emotions are affect-specific, such that sadness rumination is associated with difficulties replacing negative thoughts and shifting between mental sets, while anger rumination is associated with a better ability to maintain negative thoughts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The work is part of ongoing clinical research investigating the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying pediatric attention and behavioral problems. Performance data on differing subsets of the current study’s tasks for subsets of the current sample were included in the datasets used to investigate conceptually-distinct hypotheses as follows: Data were reported in aggregate with other tasks to examine executive function heterogeneity (Kofler et al. 2019), working memory heterogeneity (Fosco et al. 2020), and as predictors of social functioning (Kofler et al. 2018), sluggish cognitive tempo (Kofler et al. 2019), and set shifting deficits (Irwin et al. 2019) in children with ADHD.

References

  • Aker, M., Harmer, C., & Landrø, N. I. (2014). More rumination and less effective emotion regulation in previously depressed women with preserved executive functions. BMC Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-014-0334-4.

  • Alderson, R. M., Rapport, M. D., & Kofler, M. J. (2007). ADHD and behavioral inhibition: A meta-analytic review of the stop-signal paradigm. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 745–758.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Alderson, R. M., Rapport, M. D., Sarver, D. E., & Kofler, M. J. (2008). ADHD and behavioral inhibition: A re-examination of the stop-signal task. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 989–998.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anestis, M. D., Anestis, J. C., Selby, E. A., & Joiner, T. E. (2009). Anger rumination across forms of aggression. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 192–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.09.026.

  • Baer, R. A., & Sauer, S. E. (2011). Relationships between depressive rumination, anger rumination, and borderline personality features. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 2, 142–150. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernblum, R., & Mor, N. (2010). Rumination and emotion-related biases in refreshing information. Emotion, 10, 423–432. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Besharat, M. A., Nia, M. E., & Farahani, H. (2013). Anger and major depressive disorder: The mediating role of emotion regulation and anger rumination. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 6, 35–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2012.07.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boll, T., & Bryant, B. (1988). Clinical neuropsychology and brain function: Research, measurement, and practice. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1037/10063-000.

  • Butler, L. D., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1994). Gender differences in responses to depressed mood in a college sample. Sex Roles, 30, 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01420597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caprara, G. V., Paciello, M., Gerbino, M., & Cugini, C. (2007). Individual differences conducive to aggression and violence: Trajectories and correlates of irritability and hostile rumination through adolescence. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 359–374.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Kasen, S., Velez, C. N., Hartmark, C., Johnson, J., Rojas, M., Brook, J., & Streuning, E. L. (1993). An epidemiological study of disorders in late childhood and adolescence? I. age- and gender-specific prevalence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 851–867.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connolly, S. L., Wagner, C. A., Shapero, B. G., Pendergast, L. L., Abramson, L. Y., & Alloy, L. B. (2014). Rumination prospectively predicts executive functioning impairments in adolescents. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 45, 46–56.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R. N., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000). Cognitive inflexibility among ruminators and non-ruminators. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 24, 699–711. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005591412406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Lissnyder, E., Koster, E. H. W., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2010b). The association between depressive symptoms and executive control impairments in response to emotional and non-emotional information. Cognition and Emotion, 24, 264–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903378354.

  • Denson, T. F. (2013). The multiple systems model of angry rumination. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17, 103–123.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dickerson, K. S., Ciesla, J. A., & Zelic, K. (2017). The role of executive functioning in adolescent rumination and depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41, 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9802-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding, X., Yang, Y., Qian, M., & Gordon-Hollingsworth, A. (2015). Specific effects of anger rumination on particular executive functions. Psychological Reports, 117, 825–841. https://doi.org/10.2466/02.09.PR0.117c24z8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DiStefano, C., Zhu, M., & Mîndrilă, D. (2009). Understanding and using factor scores: Considerations for the applied researcher. Practical Assessment, Research and Evaluation, 14, 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • DuPaul, G. J., Power, T. J., Anastopoulos, A. D., & Reid, R. (2016). ADHD rating scale-5 for children and adolescents: Checklists, norms, and clinical interpretation. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2014). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 175–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fosco, W. D., Kofler, M. J., Groves, N. B., Chan, E. S., & Raiker, J. S. (2020). Which ‘Working’ components of working memory aren’t working in youth with ADHD?. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1–14.

  • Friedman, N. P., & Miyake, A. (2004). The relations among inhibition and interference control functions: A latent-variable analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 101–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-3445.133.1.101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, R., & Sanson, A. (1994). Effects of experimenter and mother presence on the attentional performance and activity of hyperactive boys. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 517–529.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon, S. L., Stephens, H. F., Repper, K. K., Driscoll, K. A., & Kistner, J. A. (2019). Children’s rumination to sadness and anger: Implications for depression and aggression. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 48, 622–632.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hilt, L. M., McLaughlin, K. A., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2010). Examination of the response styles theory in a community sample of young adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 545–556.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hilt, L. M., Leitzke, B. T., & Pollak, S. D. (2014). Cognitive control and rumination in youth: The importance of emotion. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 5, 302–313.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hogarty, K. Y., Hines, C. V., Kromrey, J. D., Ferron, J. M., & Mumford, K. R. (2005). The quality factor solutions in exploratory factor analysis: The influence of sample size, communality, and overdetermination. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65, 202–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. New Haven: Yale.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, L. N., Kofler, M. J., Soto, E. F., & Groves, N. B. (2019). Do children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have set shifting deficits? Neuropsychology, 33, 470–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000546.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jonkman, L. M., Markus, C. R., Franklin, M. S., & Dalfsen, J. H. (2017). Mind wandering during attention performance: Effects of ADHD-inattention symptomatology, negative mood, ruminative response style and working memory capacity. PLoS One, 12, e0181213. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181213.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Joormann, J. (2010). Cognitive inhibition and emotional regulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 161–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410370293.

  • Joormann, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2008). Updating the contents of working memory in depression: Interference from irrelevant negative material. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117, 182–192. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.117.1.182.

  • Joormann, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2010). Emotion regulation in depression: Relation to cognitive inhibition. Cognition and Emotion, 24, 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903407948.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joormann, J., & Tran, T. B. (2009). Rumination and intentional forgetting of emotional material. Cognition & Emotion, 23, 1233–1246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joormann, J., Levens, S. M., & Gotlib, I. H. (2011). Sticky thoughts: Depression and rumination are associated with difficulties manipulating emotional material in WM. Psychological Science, 22, 979–983. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611415539.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jose, P. E., & Brown, I. (2008). When does the gender difference in rumination begin? Gender and age differences in the use of rumination by adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 180–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-006-9166-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. E., Areshenkoff, C. N., Rast, P., Hofer, S. M., Iverson, G. L., & Garcia-Barrera, M. A. (2018). The unity and diversity of executive functions: A systematic review and re-analysis of latent variable studies. Psychological Bulletin, 144, 1147–1185. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000160.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, J., Birmaher, B., Brent, D., et al. (1997). Schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children (K-SADS-PL): Initial reliability and validity data. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 980–988.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kofler, M.J., Harmon, S.L., Aduen, P.A., Day, T.N., Austin, K., Spiegel, J., Irwin, J., & Sarver, D.E. (2018). Neurocognitive and behavioral predictors of social problems in ADHD: A Bayesian framework. Neuropsychology, 32, 344–355.

  • Kofler, M. J., McCart, M. R., Zajac, K., Ruggiero, K. J., Saunders, B. E., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2011). Depression and delinquency covariation in an accelerated longitudinal sample of adolescents. Journal of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, 79, 458–469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kofler, M. J., Sarver, D. E., Spiegel, J. A., Day, T. N., Harmon, S. L., & Wells, E. L. (2016). Heterogeneity in ADHD: Neurocognitive predictors of peer, family, and academic functioning. Child Neuropsychology, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2016.1205010.

  • Kofler, M. J., Irwin, L. N., Soto, E. F., Groves, N. B., Harmon, S. L., & Sarver, D. E. (2019). Executive Functioning heterogeneity in pediatric ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47, 273–286.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Koster, E. H. W., De Lissnyder, E. D., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2011). Understanding depressive rumination from a cognitive science perspective: Perspective: The impaired disengagement hypothesis. Clinical Psychology Review, 31, 138–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.005.

  • Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1988.10478722.

  • McLaughlin, K. A., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2011). Rumination as a transdiagnostic factor in depression and anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 49, 186–193.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, K. A., Aldao, A., Wisco, B. E., & Hilt, L. M. (2014). Rumination as a transdiagnostic factor underlying transitions between internalizing symptoms and aggressive behavior in early adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123, 13–23.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J. T., Benson, J. W., Knouse, L. E., Kimbrel, N. A., & Anastopoulos, A. D. (2013). Are negative automatic thoughts associated with ADHD in adulthood? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37, 851–859. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-013-9525-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miyake, A., & Friedman, N. P. (2012). The nature and organization of individual differences in executive functions: Four general conclusions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411429458.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., & Howerter, A. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex "frontal lobe" tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Monsell, S. (1996). Control of mental processes. In V. Bruce (Ed.), Unsolved mysteries of the mind: Tutorial essays in cognition (pp. 93–148). Hove: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, N., & Jones, D. M. (1990). Memory updating in working memory: The role of the central executive. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 111–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navon, D. (1977). Forest before trees: The precedence of global features in visual perception. Cognitive Psychology, 9, 353–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigg, J. T. (2000). On inhibition/disinhibition in developmental psychopathology: Views from cognitive and personality psychology and a working inhibition taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 220–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Stice, E., Wade, E., & Bohon, C. (2007). Reciprocal relations between rumination and bulimic, substance abuse ad depressive symptoms in female adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 198–207.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 400–424.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peled, M., & Moretti, M. M. (2007). Rumination on anger and sadness in adolescence: Fueling of fury and deepening of despair. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 66–75.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peled, M., & Moretti, M. M. (2010). Ruminating on rumination: Are rumination on anger and sadness differentially related to aggression and depressed mood? Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32, 108–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raiker, J. S., Rapport, M. D., Kofler, M. J., & Sarver, D. E. (2012). Objectively-measured impulsivity and ADHD: Testing competing predictions from the working memory and behavioral inhibition models of ADHD. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40, 699–713.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2004). Behavior assessment system for children (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Pearson Assessments.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2015). Behavior assessment system for children (3rd ed.). Bloomington: Pearson Assessments.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rood, L., Roelofs, J., Bögels, S. M., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schouten, E. (2009). The influence of emotion-focused rumination and distraction on depressive symptoms in non-clinical youth: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 607–616.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosseel, Y. (2012). Iavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling. Journal of Statistical Software, 48(2), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v048.i02

  • Sattler, J., Dumont, R., & Coalson, D. (2016). Assessment of children: WISC-V and WPPSI-IV. San Diego: Sattler Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selby, E. A., Anestis, M. D., & Joiner, T. E. (2007). Daydreaming about death: Violent daydreaming as a form of emotion dysregulation in suicidality. Behavior Modification, 31, 867–879. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445507300874.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. D., Stephens, H. F., Repper, K., & Kistner, J. A. (2016). The relationship between anger rumination and aggression in typically developing children and high-risk adolescents. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 38, 515–527. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-016-9542-1.

  • Snyder, H. R., Miyake, A., & Hankin, B. L. (2015). Advancing understanding of executive function impairments and psychopathology: Bridging the gap between clinical and cognitive approaches. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 328.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Soreni, N., Crosbie, J., Ickowicz, A., & Schachar, R. (2009). Stop signal and Conners’ CPT: Test-retest reliability of two inhibition measures in ADHD children. Journal of Attention Disorders, 13, 137–143.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • St Clair-Thompson, H. L., & Gathercole, S. E. (2006). Executive functions and achievements in school: Shifting, updating, inhibition, and working memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 59, 745–759.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sukhodolsky, D. G., Golub, A., & Cromwell, E. N. (2001). Development and validation of the anger rumination scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 689–700. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00171-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics. Boston: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vălenaş, S. P., & Szentágotai-Tătar, A. (2017). The relationship between rumination and executive functions: A meta-analysis. Journal of Evidence-Based Psychotherapies, 17, 23–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasquez, E. A., Osman, S., & Wood, J. L. (2012). Rumination and the displacement of aggression in United Kingdom gang-affiliated youth. Aggressive Behavior, 38, 89–97.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner, C. A., Alloy, L. B., & Abramson, L. Y. (2015). Trait rumination, depression, and executive functions in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 18–36.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, E. R. (2009). Depressive rumination and co-morbidity: Evidence for brooding as a transdiagnostic process. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 27, 160–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (2014). WISC-V: Technical and interpretive manual. Bloomington: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitmer, A. J., & Banich, M. T. (2007). Inhibition versus switching deficits in different forms of rumination. Psychological Science, 18, 546–553. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01936.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whitmer, A. J., & Banich, M. T. (2010). Trait rumination and inhibitory deficits in long-term memory. Cognition & Emotion, 24, 168–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930802645762.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitmer, A. J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2013). An attentional scope model of rumination. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 1036–1061.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, P. O., & Goodyer, I. M. (2006). Attention difficulties and mood-related ruminative response style in adolescents with unipolar depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 1284–1291.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Willoughby, M. T., Blair, C. B., & The Family Life Project Investigators. (2016). Measuring executive function in early childhood: A case for formative measurement. Psychological Assessment, 28, 319–330.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zetsche, U., Bürkner, P. C., & Schulze, L. (2018). Shedding light on the association between repetitive negative thinking and deficits in cognitive control – A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 63, 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.06.001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ziegert, D. I., & Kistner, J. A. (2002). Response styles theory: Downward extension to children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31, 325–334.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the undergraduate research assistants for their assistance in the collection and management of this data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sherelle L. Harmon.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Ethical Approval

All procedures involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Florida State University Human Subjects Committee (No.00001032) and the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent/assent was obtained from all participants.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Harmon, S.L., Kistner, J.A. & Kofler, M.J. Neurocognitive Correlates of Rumination Risk in Children: Comparing Competing Model Predictions in a Clinically Heterogeneous Sample. J Abnorm Child Psychol 48, 1197–1210 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00661-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-020-00661-4

Keywords

Navigation