Content area
Full Text
Cogn Ther Res (2013) 37:633646
DOI 10.1007/s10608-012-9492-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Underlying Structure of Ruminative Thinking: Factor Analysis of the Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire
Alicia Tanner David Voon Penelope Hasking
Graham Martin
Published online: 14 October 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
Abstract The Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire (RTSQ) is a 20-item measure assessing a single dimension of rumination over and above valence, temporal orientation of thought content, and the cognitive-affective context in which it occurs. The current study examined the factor structure of rumination as measured by the RTSQ, and whether ndings of its initial validation study could be replicated within an adolescent sample (N = 2,362). An exploratory factor analysis and a subsequent conrmatory factor analysis were undertaken on two subsamples (n = 1,181) which did not signicantly differ in gender and age. Five items with factor loadings of \.50 or cross loadings of [.30 on a second factor were removed. As hypothesised, an exploratory factor analysis on the nal 15 items demonstrated the RTSQ was comprised of four rumination subcomponents, labelled Problem-Focused Thoughts, Counterfactual Thinking, Repetitive Thoughts, and Anticipatory Thoughts. A conrmatory factor analysis supported this, contrary to the initial validation study. Each of these subscales had differential contributions to psychological distress and coping styles in separate multiple regressions. Our ndings support the increasing body of evidence suggesting a multidimensional structure for rumination, and clinical implications are noted.
Keywords Rumination Factor analysis Adolescents
Psychological distress
Introduction
Mental health problems and disorders are the leading cause of non-fatal burden of disease and injury among young people in Australia, accounting for almost 50 % of the burden of disease among 1624 year-olds (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, AIHW 2011). Leading causes of mental disease among young people in 2007 were anxiety and depression, which together accounted for almost one-quarter (24 %) of the burden of disease in this age group (AIHW 2011). It is well-established that adolescence is a developmental period characterized by increases in uncontrollable life stressors and vulnerability to the development of mental health problems (Hankin et al. 1998) and, as such, improving our understanding of the psychological factors that predispose, precipitate, and perpetuate mental health problems during this time is of critical importance.
Rumination, broadly dened as the tendency to think...