AUTHOR=Lilly Kieren J. , Howard Chloe , Zubielevitch Elena , Sibley Chris G. 

TITLE=Thinking twice: examining gender differences in repetitive negative thinking across the adult lifespan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239112

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1239112

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1001"><title>Background</title><p>A wealth of literature shows that women report greater levels of repetitive negative thinking, particularly rumination, than men in adolescence and adulthood. However, little research has examined how these gender differences develop or change across the entire adult lifespan.</p></sec><sec id="sec2001"><title>Methods</title><p>The present study addresses these oversights using a nationwide longitudinal probability sample of adults over 12 annual assessment points (<italic>N</italic> = 64,901; <italic>Mage</italic> = 42.50, range 18–81; 62.9% women) and a single-item measure of global repetitive negative thinking. Critically, we use multigroup cohort-sequential latent growth modeling to determine whether changes in this construct over time are due to (a) normative aging, (b) generational differences associated with the historical period one was born and raised in, or (c) a combination of these processes.</p></sec><sec id="sec3001"><title>Results</title><p>Our results reveal that rumination peaks in young adulthood for both women and men but declines steadily thereafter, reaching its lowest levels at the end of the adult lifespan. That said, some gender and cohort differences emerged, with young women—particularly young cohorts—reporting higher levels of rumination than their male counterparts and older birth cohorts.</p></sec><sec id="sec4001"><title>Discussion</title><p>Our study suggests that gender differences in rumination may be most prevalent among young birth cohorts, though future research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these processes.</p></sec>