ORIGINAL PAPER
The role of rumination in the occurrence of positive effects of experienced traumatic events
| 1 | Institute of Psychology, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland |
Submission date: 2015-11-06
Acceptance date: 2015-11-12
Online publication date: 2016-07-11
Publication date: 2016-07-04
Health Psychology Report 2016;4(4):321–331
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background
Cognitive processes play a significant role in both the negative and positive consequences of traumatic experiences. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of rumination in the occurrence of positive effects, in the form of posttraumatic growth, of experienced traumatic events.
Participants and procedure
Data were collected from 227 subjects who had experienced traumatic events, including cancer patients (31.30%), women who had experienced domestic violence (39.20%), and medical rescue workers exposed to traumatic events at work (29.50%). The age of participants ranged from 19 to 67 years (M = 40.12, SD = 13.28). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was used to measure positive changes, and the Event Related Rumination Inventory was used to assess the two types of ruminations (intrusive and deliberate).
Results
Both types of ruminations (intrusive and deliberate) were positively correlated with the level of posttraumatic growth in the group of cancer patients, and deliberate ruminations were associated with posttraumatic growth in the group of women who had experienced domestic violence and in the medical rescue workers. The results of regression analysis confirmed a significant role of deliberate rumination.
Conclusions
The study of ruminations allows us to better explain the mechanisms underlying the consequences of traumatic experiences.
Cognitive processes play a significant role in both the negative and positive consequences of traumatic experiences. The aim of this research was to investigate the role of rumination in the occurrence of positive effects, in the form of posttraumatic growth, of experienced traumatic events.
Participants and procedure
Data were collected from 227 subjects who had experienced traumatic events, including cancer patients (31.30%), women who had experienced domestic violence (39.20%), and medical rescue workers exposed to traumatic events at work (29.50%). The age of participants ranged from 19 to 67 years (M = 40.12, SD = 13.28). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory was used to measure positive changes, and the Event Related Rumination Inventory was used to assess the two types of ruminations (intrusive and deliberate).
Results
Both types of ruminations (intrusive and deliberate) were positively correlated with the level of posttraumatic growth in the group of cancer patients, and deliberate ruminations were associated with posttraumatic growth in the group of women who had experienced domestic violence and in the medical rescue workers. The results of regression analysis confirmed a significant role of deliberate rumination.
Conclusions
The study of ruminations allows us to better explain the mechanisms underlying the consequences of traumatic experiences.
REFERENCES (45)
1.
Baryła, W., & Wojciszke, B. (2005). Kwestionariusz Ruminacji [Rumination Questionnaire]. Studia Psychologiczne, 43, 5–22.
2.
Bower, J. E., Kemeny, M. E., Taylor, S. E., & Fahey, J. L. (1998). Cognitive processing, discovery of meaning, CD4 decline, and AIDS-related mortality among bereaved HIV-seropositive men. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 979–986.
3.
Boyraz, G., Home, S. G., & Sayger, T. V. (2010). Finding positive meaning after loss: The mediating role of reflection for bereaved individuals. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15, 242–258.
4.
Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., Tedeschi, R. G., & McMillan, J. (2000). A correlational test of the relationship between posttraumatic growth, religion, and cognitive processing. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 521–527.
5.
Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., Tedeschi, R. G., & McMillan, J. (2010). The posttraumatic growth model: Sociocultural considerations. In: T. Weiss & R. Berger (eds.), Posttraumatic growth and culturally competent practice (pp. 1–14). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
6.
Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., Tedeschi, R G., & Solomon, D. T. (2010). Posttraumatic growth and depreciation as independent experiences and predictors of well-being. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15, 151–166.
7.
Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., Tedeschi, R. G., Triplett, K. N., Vishnevsky, T., & Lindstrom, C. M. (2011). Assessing posttraumatic cognitive processes: the Event Related Rumination Inventory. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 24, 137–156.
8.
Carboon, I., Anderson, V. A., Pollard, A., Szer, J., & Seymour, J. F. (2005). Posttraumatic growth following a cancer diagnosis: Do world assumptions contribute? Traumatology, 11, 269–283.
9.
Chan, M. W., Ho, S. M., Tedeschi, R. G., & Leung, C. W. (2011). The valence of attentional bias and cancer-related rumination in posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth among women with breast cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 20, 544–552.
10.
Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2000). A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38, 319–345.
11.
Ehring, T., & Ehlers, A. (2014). Does rumination mediate the relationship between emotion regulation ability and posttraumatic stress disorder? Psychotraumatology, 5, 23547. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ ejpt.v.523547.
12.
Gangstad, B., Norman, P., & Barton, J. (2009). Cognitive processing and posttraumatic growth following stroke. Rehabilitation Psychology, 54, 69–75.
13.
Gerwe, E. J. (2014). Intrusive and deliberate rumination predict posttraumatic growth in members enrolled in a cardiovascular rehabilitation program. Theses and dissertation. University of South Carolina. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/a....
14.
Helgeson, V. S., Reynolds, K. A., & Tomich, P. L. (2006). A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 797–816.
15.
Jarmakowski, T. (2011). Rola myślenia ruminacyjnego w podatności na wyuczoną bezradność [The role of ruminative thinking in susceptibility to learned helplessness]. Studia Psychologiczne, 49, 61–72.
16.
Kilmer, R. P., & Gil-Rivas, V. (2010). Exploring posttraumatic growth in children impacted by Hurricane Katrina: Correlates of the phenomenon and developmental considerations. Child Development, 81, 1211–1227.
17.
Kleim, B., & Ehlers, A. (2009). Evidence for a curvilinear relationship between posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic depression and PTSD in assault survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 45–52.
18.
Lindstrom, C. M., Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2013). The relationship of core beliefs challenge, rumination, disclosure, and sociocultural elements to posttraumatic growth. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 5, 50–55.
19.
Martin, L. M., & Tesser, A. (1996). Clarifying our thoughts. In: R. S. Dyer (ed.), Ruminative thoughts: Advances in social cognition (pp. 189–209). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
20.
McIntosh, W. D., & Martin, L. L. (1992). The cybernetics of happiness: The relation between goal attainment, rumination, and affect. Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 14, 222–246.
21.
Michael, S. T., & Snyder, C. R. (2005). Getting unstuck: The roles of hope, finding meaning, and rumination in the adjustment to bereavement among college students. Death Studies, 29, 435–458.
22.
Morris, B., & Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2011). Rumination, posttraumatic growth, and distress: structural equation modeling with cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 20, 1176–1183.
23.
Nightingale, V. R., Sher, T. G., & Hansen, N. B. (2010). The impact of receiving an HIV diagnosis and cognitive processing on psychological distress and posttraumatic growth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 23, 452–460.
24.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000). The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed depressive /anxiety symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 504–511.
25.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspective on Psychological Science, 3, 400–424.
26.
Ogińska-Bulik, N. (2013a). Pozytywne skutki doświadczeń traumatycznych, czyli kiedy łzy zamieniają się w perły [Positive effects of traumatic experiences – when tears become pearls]. Warszawa: Wyd. Difin.
27.
Ogińska-Bulik, N. (2013b). The role of social support in people struggling with cancer. Health Psychology Report, 1, 1–8.
28.
Ogińska-Bulik, N. (2014). Rola objawów stresu pourazowego w rozwoju po traumie u pracowników służb ratowniczych [The role of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in posttraumatic growth among rescue-service workers]. In: I. Janicka & M. Znajmiecka-Sikora (eds.), Rodzina i kariera [Family and Career] (pp. 389–402). Łódź: Wyd. UŁ.
29.
Ogińska-Bulik, N. (2015). Dwa oblicza traumy – negatywne i pozytywne skutki zdarzeń traumatycznych u pracowników służb ratowniczych [Two faces of trauma – the negative and positive effects of traumatic experiences among rescue-service workers]. Warszawa: Wyd. Difin.
30.
Ogińska-Bulik, N., & Juczyński, Z. (2010). Rozwój potraumatyczny – charakterystyka i pomiar [Postraumatic growth – characteristics and measurement]. Psychiatria, 7, 129–142.
31.
Ogińska-Bulik, N., & Juczyński, Z. (2015). Inwentarz Ruminacji o Negatywnym Zdarzeniu – polska adaptacja the Event Related Rumination Inventory [Inwentarz Ruminacji o Negatywnym Zdarzeniu – Polish adaptation of the Event Related Rumination Inventory]. Przegląd Psychologiczny, 58, 383–400.
32.
Park, C. L., Chmielewski, J., & Blank, T. O. (2010). Posttraumatic growth: Finding positive meaning in cancer survivorship moderates the impact of intrusive thoughts on adjustment in younger adults. Psycho-Oncology, 19, 1139–1147.
33.
Phelps, L. F., Williams, R. M., Raichle, K. A., Turner, A. P., & Ehde, D. M. (2009). The importance of cognitive processing to adjustment in the first year following amputation. Rehabilitation Psychology, 53, 28–38.
34.
Radoń, S. (2014). Kwestionariusz Ruminacji-Refleksyjności – polska adaptacja the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire [Kwestionariusz Ruminacji-Refleksyjności – Polish adaptation of the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire]. Psychoterapia, 169, 61–72.
35.
Salsman, J. M., Segerstrom, S. C., Brechting, E. H., Carlson C. R., & Andrykowski M. A. (2009). Posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology among colorectal cancer survivors: A 3 month longitudinal examination of cognitive processing. Psycho-Oncology, 18, 30–41.
36.
Senol-Durak, E., & Ayvasik, H. B. (2010). Factors associated with posttraumatic growth among myocardial infarction patients: Perceived social support. perception of the event and coping. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 17, 150–158.
37.
Stockton, H. (2012). Cognitive processing and growth following trauma. Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the degree of doctor of philosophy. eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28063/1/580179.pdf (accessed 20.04.2015).
38.
Stockton, H., Hunt, N., & Joseph, S. (2011). Cognitive processing, rumination and posttraumatic growth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24, 85–92.
39.
Taku, K., Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2008). The role of rumination in the coexistence of distress and posttraumatic growth among bereaved Japanese university students. Death Studies, 32, 428–444.
40.
Taku, K., Cann, A., Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2009). Intrusive versus deliberate rumination in posttraumatic growth across US and Japanese samples. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 22, 129–136.
41.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–471.
42.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1–8.
43.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2007). Podejście kliniczne do wzrostu po doświadczeniach traumatycznych [Clinical approach towards posttraumatic growth]. In: P. A. Linley & S. Joseph (eds.), Psychologia pozytywna w praktyce [Positive Psychology in Practice] (pp. 230–248). Warszawa: PWN.
44.
Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 247–259.
45.
Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 136–206.
RELATED ARTICLE
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.