A study of rumination and its correlates age and gender differences among the educated

Abstract

One who thinks, cannot escape rumination. It is a cognitive thought process that we humans wield when we think about past events especially those that are upsetting and heart-rending. Generous amount of research conducted on rumination in the past three decades all over the world have highlighted its deleterious effects on the overall physical health. Acknowledging the scarcity of research on rumination in India, the present study was designed to understand its nature and prevalence in the Indian context. The aim of the current investigation is to study rumination and its correlates namely depression, anxiety, stress, physical health, neuroticism, perceived stress, happiness, self-esteem and emotional regulation across gender among two age-groups affiliated with higher education in Chandigarh. Total sample comprised of 400 individuals. Two age groups i.e., 18-22 years (young adults) and 50-58 years (middle-aged adults) were selected. The young adults comprised of 200 undergraduate students (100 males and 100 females) and the middle-aged adults comprised of 200 college teachers (100 males and 100 females) affiliated with higher education i.e., from arts, science and commerce colleges in Chandigarh. Results revealed significant age and gender differences. Age differences were more pronounced. Correlation results revealed significant association of rumination with depression, anxiety, stress, dimensions of physical health viz., physical distress and psychological distress, neuroticism, perceived stress, happiness, self-esteem and cognitive reappraisal strategy of emotional regulation. Results also revealed anxiety, stress, psychological distress dimension of physical health, neuroticism, perceived stress, self-esteem and cognitive reappraisal strategy of emotion regulation as significant predictors of rumination. This study implicates the need for counsellors in colleges who can support and guide the young adults in keeping a check on their thoughts as they navigate through their life situations. newline