*Dr Colette Roos and Melanie Wilkins

^a,b School of Psychology and Counselling, QUT, Brisbane, Australia

Dr Colette Roos, School of Psychology and Counselling | Faculty of Health

Queensland University of Technology | Kelvin Grove Campus

O Block, B Wing Qld 4059 AUSTRALIA: c.roos@qut.edu.au

The effects of rumination following a stressful event.

Background. It is predicted that between 50 – 70% of the general population are affected after an exposure to a traumatic event, including distress symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, and avoidant behaviour, which can further develop into serious mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Alternatively, individuals can report experiencing positive changes in their lives – a phenomenon referred to as posttraumatic growth.  Such changes include improved relationships with others, a change in life philosophy, or a change in perspective. The nature of the cognitive processing an individual engages in after experiencing a stressful or traumatic event, has the potential to impact on their psychological progress.  Intrusive and negative thoughts can lead to distressing symptoms, whereas deliberate and positive rumination aimed at understanding the event can lead to posttraumatic growth.

Method. One hundred and twenty-nine participants (97 first year psychology students and 32 community members) completed an online questionnaire to examine the effects direct and vicarious stressful events have on levels of distress as measured by the Impact of Event Scale – Revised (IES-R), the type of rumination as measured by the Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI), and posttraumatic growth as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI).  A series of one-way analysis of various (ANOVAs) were conducted to examine the relationship between the independent variables and the measures. Bivariate correlations were conducted between the measures (IES-R, ERRI, and the PTGI) and their respective subscales to examine the relationships between participants’ scores of each.

Results. As predicted distress symptoms positively correlated with posttraumatic growth (r = .193, p = .046), deliberate rumination positively correlated with posttraumatic growth (r = .337, p = .000), intrusive rumination did not correlate with posttraumatic growth (r = .182, p = .061), and intrusive rumination positively correlated with distress symptoms of the IES-R (r = .705, p = .000). Self-reported severity of stress as rated on a 5 point scale (mild to very severe) was significantly related to scores on the IES-R, F(4, 102) = 3.10, p = .019),  the ERRI, F(4, 102) = 2.99, p = .022), and the PTGI, F(4, 102) = 3.07, p = .021), indicating corroborating evidence of results found in these measures on self-reported severity ratings. Results indicated there was no significant difference on any measures between participants who reported direct or vicarious stress.  A bivariate correlation indicated a significant and positive relationship between the ERRI total score on the PTGI total (r = .337, p = .000), and all PTGI subscales.  Correlations also demonstrated that the ERRI intrusion subscale was significant with the IES-R total (r = .705, p = .000).

Conclusions. The nature of cognitive processing following a stressful or traumatic event appears to have important implications in the development of posttraumatic growth. This study shows support for the notion that there are two different types of ruminating cognitive processes, with each having a different relationship with symptoms of distress and their influence on posttraumatic growth after experiencing a stressful life event. Event related deliberate rumination is controlled by the individual and likely to aid in posttraumatic growth whereas intrusive rumination is more likely to be related to symptoms of distress and not aid in posttraumatic growth.

Added-Values. Understanding the relationship between psychological distress and posttraumatic growth can aid in intervention and supportive strategies employed by those aiding individuals who are affected by exposure to stressful or traumatic events.  The ERRI provides promise in being able to differentiate between deliberate and intrusive rumination processes which appears to have a distinct consequences and impact on the psychological process after exposure stressful life events. Further understanding of the ruminative cognitive processes may further explain the relationship between PTSD symptoms and PTGI and further aid in assisting individuals after they have experiences stressful and traumatic life events.

Keywords: rumination, intrusive, deliberate, posttraumatic growth, PTSD

Word count: 694