Ruminations on rumination: anger and sadness rumination in a normative and clinical sample

Anger rumination and sadness rumination were examined concurrently in a normative sample of adults (Study 1) and a clinical adolescent sample (Study 2). The purpose of this research was to assess if rumination on anger and sadness have distinct emotional and behavioural associations, and whether it is warranted to conceptualize them as separate constructs. In both studies, factor analysis indicated that items from analogous anger rumination and sadness rumination measures loaded onto two factors tapping anger rumination and sadness rumination, respectively. Structural equation modeling confirmed unique relations among each form of rumination and specific emotional or behavioural conditions (i.e., anger, aggression and depression). In Study 1, women scored higher than men on sadness rumination and comparable to men on anger rumination. In Study 2, adolescent girls scored higher than boys on both forms of rumination. In both studies, sex did not moderate the relations among rumination and the outcome variables. Findings supported the conceptualization of anger rumination and sadness rumination as two separate constructs. Directions for future research are discussed.