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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1447040
This article is part of the Research Topic Youth Mental Health, Particularly in Asian Populations View all 43 articles

Running head: RUMINATION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN YOUNG COUPLES Dyadic Examination of Rumination and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Heterogeneous Young Couples: The Differential Role of Gender

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoyu Liu Xiaoyu Liu 1Anji Zhou Anji Zhou 2Jin Zhuyun Jin Zhuyun 2Zhuo Rachel Han Zhuo Rachel Han 2Jing Qian Jing Qian 3*Hui Wang Hui Wang 4*
  • 1 Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 2 Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing, China
  • 3 Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing, China
  • 4 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: The relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms has been extensively studied over the past two decades. However, few studies have explored how rumination contributes to depressive symptoms within the context of heterogeneous romantic relationships, particularly regarding potential gender differences in these effects. The present study aims to investigate whether rumination is related to four key factors of depressive symptoms (i.e., depressed affect, positive affect, somatic and retarded activity, interpersonal distress) both on the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels among young couples. Methods: Participants were 148 Chinese young couples (N = 296; males: M age = 21.94 years, SD = 2.40 years; females: M age = 21.62 years, SD = 2.26 years). Couples completed self-reported questionnaires assessing rumination and depressive symptoms separately, using the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Results: The results of a series of actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) showed that, on the intrapersonal level, rumination was positively and significantly associated with an individual’s own depressed affect, somatic and retarded activity, and interpersonal distress. On the interpersonal level, higher levels of rumination in males were associated with increased depressed affect and interpersonal distress in their female partners. However, no such partner effect was observed for male partners of ruminative females. Conclusions: These findings suggest that females in romantic relationships, as compared to males, may be more susceptible to the influence of their male partners’ rumination. This study is among the firsts to demonstrate the gender-specific effect in the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms in young couples.

    Keywords: gender, rumination, depressive symptoms, romantic relationship, Young couples

    Received: 11 Jun 2024; Accepted: 19 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Zhou, Zhuyun, Han, Qian and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jing Qian, Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, Beijing, China
    Hui Wang, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China

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