Worry and Rumination

Parmentier, Fabrice B R et al. “Mindfulness and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in the General Population: The Mediating Roles of Worry, Rumination, Reappraisal and Suppression.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 10 506. 8 Mar. 2019, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00506 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6418017/

Mindfulness and meditations effects on anxiety and depression through the emotional regulators of reappraisal, rumination, worry, and expressive suppression

Study explanation

This study explores the direct and indirect correlation of meditation and mindfulness on anxiety and depression in the general population specifically in regards to the roles in emotional regulation of four mediators: 1) cognitive reappraisal – the modification of emotional response through the reconsideration of a situation’s meaning; 2) expressive suppression – the prevention of physical reaction to emotion; 3) rumination – the negative dwelling on past experience; and 4) worry – the negative dwelling on future experience. This study also assesses the role of meditation experience as a factor. The study tested in particular the theory that in a non-clinical population, mindfulness reduces anxiety and depression by encouraging reappraisal and reducing expressive suppression, rumination, and worry.

Results

The results of the study’s questionnaire showed both direct and indirect negative correlation between mindfulness, either dispositional or cultivated in meditation, and anxiety and depression. The indirect correlation was due to the use of healthy cognitive reappraisal and reduction in the other three factors. Rumination, worry, and expressive suppression all had a positive correlation with depression, while only rumination and worry had a correlation with anxiety. Finally, mediation was found to have no direct correlation with anxiety or depression but only indirect through increasing mindfulness.