Rumination and depressive symptoms: Moderating role of defense style immaturity

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Personality and Individual Differences 43 (2007) 715–724

Rumination and depressive symptoms: Moderating role ofdefense style immaturity

Paul Kwon *, Megan L. Olson

Department of Psychology, Washington State University, P.O. Box 644820, Pullman, WA 99164-4820, United States

Received 29 August 2006; received in revised form 8 January 2007Available online 9 March 2007

Abstract

Based on an integration of the theoretical conceptualization of rumination and defense style, we hypoth-esized that the association between rumination and depressive symptoms would be moderated by defensestyle immaturity. Three hundred and fourteen undergraduate students completed measures of rumination,defense style, and depressive symptoms. As predicted, both rumination and defense style were indepen-dently associated with depressive symptoms. Also as hypothesized, a significant interaction emerged inwhich the association between rumination and depressive symptoms was moderated by defense style. Rumi-nation was associated with depressive symptoms primarily when accompanied by an overuse of immaturedefenses. The pattern of findings were obtained with both the brooding and reflection components of rumi-nation, suggesting that there is no clear differentiation between the two in terms of their association withdepression. The results support the possibility that we can identify a particularly problematic subtype ofrumination that is associated with distortion of reality and poor problem solving, which are characteristicof an immature defense style.� 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Rumination; Brooding; Reflection; Defense style; Depression

0191-8869/$ - see front matter � 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.012

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 509 335 4633; fax: +1 509 335 5043.E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Kwon).

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716 P. Kwon, M.L. Olson / Personality and Individual Differences 43 (2007) 715–724

1. Rumination and depression

Rumination is a maladaptive coping response style that involves an unintentional process ofrepetitively focusing one’s attention on one’s depressed mood, and the potential causes and impli-cations of it. Rumination may include isolating oneself to dwell on the depressed symptoms and/or worrying about the possible consequences of these symptoms (Koole, Smeets, van Knippen-berg, & Dijksternuis, 1999; Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000; Nolen-Hoeksema, Parker, & Larson, 1994).

Research shows that a ruminative response style is related to depression in several ways. Rumi-nation has been shown to trigger depressive episodes (Just & Alloy, 1997; Nolen-Hoeksema,2000), to lead to more severe depressive symptoms (Just & Alloy, 1997), and to prolong depressiveepisodes (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991; Nolen-Hoeksema, Morrow, & Fredrickson, 1993).

Several key processes involved in rumination have been identified as particularly depressogenic.First, ruminators tend to believe that problems are more prominent in their lives than they are inactuality (Just & Alloy, 1997; Lyubomirsky, Caldwell, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1998; Nolen-Hoek-sema, 2000). In addition, rumination leads to a particularly negative view of stressful life events,which leads to the perception that there is little possibility of ameliorating their effects. This res-ignation to a negative state of affairs often leads ruminators to passively dwell on negative lifeevents, rather than taking action to correct them or to prevent them from reoccurring (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991).

Recent work has identified two components of rumination, brooding and reflection (Treynor,Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003). Both types of rumination involve wondering ‘‘How did Iget to feel this way?’’ However, each type has been shown to have differential implications fordepression. Brooding consists of ‘‘moody pondering’’ (Treynor et al., 2003, p. 251), which is pro-posed to be maladaptive, and has been associated with increased depression over time. Reflectionor reflective pondering, on the other hand, consists of contemplation, which is proposed to beadaptive, and has been shown not to be associated with increased depression over time.

2. Ruminative responses: are they all created equal?

Consider a hypothetical individual, Frank, who has had trouble in his job of one year as a sales-person at XYZ Industries. Despite ample training by the company, and considerable effort on hispart, he is unsuccessful in his job. He is not naturally outgoing, and has trouble coercing potentialcustomers using sales techniques. After one year, he is fired by XYZ Industries.

Using Treynor et al.’s (2003) framework, consider first a brooding response to this negativeevent. A sample brooding item from the Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ; Nolen-Hoeksema& Morrow, 1991) is ‘‘How often do you think ‘Why do I have problems other people don’t have?’’Consistent with Treynor et al.’s conceptualization, one can envision that this thought could leadto further brooding, leading to resignation and depression. However, one can envision exceptionsto this characterization of brooding. For instance, this thought could lead Frank to conclude thathe has problems that other people do not have because he has stubbornly chosen a profession thatdoes not suit him. This ‘‘brooding’’ thought may not lead to further ‘‘moody pondering’’, but maystimulate constructive efforts and a newfound sense of determination, leading him to consider anadaptive change in careers. He may even console himself with the thought that ‘‘all things happen

P. Kwon, M.L. Olson / Personality and Individual Differences 43 (2007) 715–724 717

for a reason’’. For this to occur, the brooding thought would likely have to be reality-based andconstructive.

Next, consider a sample reflection item from the RSQ, ‘‘How often do you analyze recentevents to try to understand why you are depressed?’’ According to Treynor et al. (2003), this isan adaptive ruminative thought. However, this presumes that the content of this reflection is real-ity-based and constructive. Consistent with this conceptualization, Frank may take responsibilityfor his firing, and become motivated to work harder in the future. However, one can also think ofequally plausible scenarios in which Frank unfairly externalizes the source of the problem, per-haps concluding with no evidence that his boss is unfairly out to get him. In that case, his reflectivepondering would likely lead him to become stuck in ruminative thoughts about his negative affect.

In other words, we believe that the relation between rumination and depressive symptoms maybe moderated by another variable. Based on our analysis of our hypothetical scenario, we canhypothesize that whether brooding or reflective pondering leads to further depression is contin-gent on whether the ruminative thought is reality-based and constructive in nature. Ruminatorswho dwell on negative situations, but in a manner that allows them to constructively seek a solu-tion, may escape many of the negative mood effects typically involved in rumination. Moreover,we believe that defense style may capture these nuances in the association between rumination(i.e., both brooding and reflection) and depressive symptoms.

3. Defense style

The initial psychoanalytic conceptualization of defense mechanisms posited that defenses existin order to manage and reduce internal conflicts (e.g., inappropriate sexual or aggressive drives).This view has shifted over the years, and defenses are now viewed as unconscious processes thatexist to protect self-esteem (e.g., Cooper, 1998). As such, defense mechanisms are activated by lifestressors that pose a potential threat to the individual. Moreover, defense mechanisms can beviewed as both a state and trait construct (Vaillant, 1998). On the one hand, they are activatedby acute crises; on the other hand, individuals differ in the typical defense mechanisms that theyutilize. These characterological differences are referred to as defense styles. Defense styles vary inlevels of maturity. Immature defense styles are characterized by defenses that distort one’s percep-tion of oneself or others (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). In addition, immature defensestyles make it difficult for individuals to deal with stressors adaptively (American PsychiatricAssociation, 1994). Defense style immaturity has been empirically linked to poor psychologicaloutcomes in longitudinal studies (Vaillant, 1976; Vaillant & Schnurr, 1988).

Prior work has shown that defense style acts as a moderator in the link between other cognitivevariables and depressive symptoms. This has been shown for negative attributional style (Kwon,1999; Kwon & Lemon, 2000) and hope (Kwon, 2000, 2002; Reff, Kwon, & Campbell, 2005). Neg-ative attributional style was not linked to greater depressive symptoms, except in the presence ofan immature defense style. Similarly, low hope was linked to greater depressive symptoms only inthe presence of immature defense style.

Returning to our hypothetical example, Frank’s maladaptive reflective pondering in which heunfairly blames his boss is an example of the immature defense mechanism of projection. Projec-tion protects self-esteem by channeling blame that realistically should be directed at oneself to


others. As a result, projection typically leads to inaction or inappropriate action. Frank’s adaptivebrooding response in which he decides to switch careers is suggestive of a mature defense, intel-lectualization. Intellectualization does not distort objective reality, and has been empiricallylinked to social competence and lower depressive symptoms (Cramer, 2002).

We predict that rumination (i.e., both brooding and reflection) and immature defense style willmake independent contributions to depressive symptoms, given that both variables have beenlinked to depression. It should be noted that although reflection has been conceptualized as rel-atively adaptive and has not been associated with longitudinal changes in depression, it has beenshown to be positively correlated with depression in the short term (Treynor et al., 2003). In addi-tion, based on our prior discussion of rumination, we believe that defense style will moderate theeffects of ruminative responses. In particular, the combination of rumination and immature de-fense style is likely to be associated with a persistent cycle of perseveration and ineffective action,which is hypothesized to be linked to high depressive symptoms. In summary, we predict thatrumination and immature defense style will be significant as main effects and in interaction witheach other in explaining variance in levels of depressive symptoms.

4. Method

4.1. Participants

Participants were 314 (83 male, 231 female) undergraduate students from a large university inthe Northwest. Participants were recruited from psychology courses and received course credit fortheir participation. The mean age of the participants was 19.4 years (SD = 1.6). Data regardingethnicity were not available; however, it is known that the vast majority of the participants wereCaucasian (estimated 80–86% based on other studies conducted in the department using the samerecruitment procedure).

4.2. Measures

The Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991). A 22-item rumi-nation (RUM) scale is derived from the 71-item RSQ, which measures the participants’ inclina-tion to ruminate when they are feeling depressed. The rumination items include thoughts whichare self-focused, symptom-focused, and focused on the possible causes and consequences of one’smood. Participants are asked to indicate whether they ‘‘almost never’’, ‘‘sometimes’’, ‘‘often’’, or‘‘almost always’’ ruminate in these ways; these responses are then coded on a 1–4 scale. The rumi-nation scale has been validated by studies demonstrating associations between the scale and high-er perceptions of stress (Just & Alloy, 1997; Lyubomirsky et al., 1998; Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000),decreased problem-solving ability (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989; Lyubomirsky & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1995), and greater severity of depressive episodes (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1994).

Recent research has suggested further dividing the rumination scale of the RSQ into two five-item subscales uncontaminated by depression, brooding (RUM-B) and reflection (RUM-R), dueto findings that the total rumination scale has considerable overlap with depressive symptoms(Treynor et al., 2003). The reflection subscale is proposed to be relatively adaptive as it involves


turning inward to problem solve and alleviate one’s depressive symptoms, whereas the broodingsubscale is proposed to be relatively maladaptive as it involves passively comparing one’s currentsituation with an unattained standard. Coefficient alpha was .78 for RUM-B and .66 for RUM-Rin the present sample.

The Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ; Bond, Gardner, Christian, & Sigal, 1983) is an 88-itemself-report questionnaire that asks participants to indicate their level of agreement with certainstatements that represent various defense mechanisms. Participants respond to each statementwith a rating ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree). The DSQ factors were rela-beled by Andrews, Pollock, and Stewart (1989) to be consistent with the Diagnostic and statisticalmanual of mental disorders (III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) categorization of de-fense mechanisms. This scoring system yields scores for three levels of defense style: mature (10items), neurotic (16 items), and immature (46 items). Sixteen DSQ items are filler statements.The concurrent validity of the DSQ was supported in a longitudinal study of psychological healthin middle-aged men (Vaillant, Bond, & Vaillant, 1986). The DSQ was found to correlate highlywith defense styles coded by clinical interview 6–8 years earlier. Given that the neuroticism scaleis intermediate in level of maturity, we were not interested in this scale. Coefficient alpha in thepresent sample was .88 for the immature scale and .52 for the mature scale. In view of the unac-ceptable level of internal consistency reliability for the mature scale, the immature scale indexeddefense style for purposes of this study. Examples from the immature scale are ‘‘I ignore danger asif I were Superman’’ and ‘‘Most of what happens to me is not my responsibility’’.

The Beck Depression Inventory – II (BDI; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) is a 21-item self-reportinstrument of depressive symptomatology. Each item is scored from 0 to 3, with a higher scoreindicating greater symptom severity. This second edition of the instrument includes new itemsassessing increases in appetite, weight, and sleep; the first edition (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery,1979) assessed only decreases in these symptoms. The BDI is a reliable and valid measure ofdepressive symptomatology (Dozois, Dobson, & Ahnberg, 1998). Coefficient alpha was .90 inthe present sample.

5. Results

Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations of study questionnaires are presented inTable 1. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses (Table 2) were conducted to examine the roles

Table 1Means, standard deviations, and intercorrelations of study questionnaires

Variable M SD 2 3 4

1. RUM-B 11.06 3.72 .69*** .36*** .51***

2. RUM-R 9.91 3.07 .35*** .40***

3. DSQ-I 3.40 .90 .52***

4. BDI 11.48 8.71

RUM-B: brooding subscale of the Rumination scale, Response Styles Questionnaire; RUM-R: reflection subscale ofthe Rumination scale, Response Styles Questionnaire; DSQ-I: Defense Style Questionnaire, Immature; BDI: BeckDepression Inventory – II.*** p < .001.

Table 2The effects of rumination and defense style on dysphoria

Variable B SE B b

Step 1 (R2 = .40)RUM-B .91 .11 .39***

DSQ-I 3.64 .45 .38***

Step 2 (DR2 = .02)RUM-B .88 .11 .38***

DSQ-I 3.63 .44 .38***

RUM-B · DSQ-I .36 .11 .15***

Step 1 (R2 = .32)RUM-R .73 .14 .26***

DSQ-I 4.12 .48 .43***

Step 2 (DR2 = .01)RUM-R .66 .14 .23***

DSQ-I 4.16 .47 .43***

RUM-R · DSQ-I .29 .13 .11*

N = 314. Criterion variable: BDI – II.*p < .05; ***p < .001.


of rumination, defense style, and their interaction in accounting for depressive symptoms. Themain effects of rumination and defense style were entered into the first step of the equation, fol-lowed by the interaction term in the second step. Predictor variables were centered to reduce mul-ticollinearity (Aiken & West, 1991).1

Consistent with study hypotheses, the regression analyses indicated that rumination and de-fense style made independent contributions as main effects in accounting for levels of depressivesymptoms. Higher rumination was associated with higher depressive symptoms; in addition, high-er levels of immature defenses were associated with greater depressive symptoms. Finally, rumi-nation interacted with immature defenses, as hypothesized.

Figs. 1 and 2 depict the nature of the interaction between rumination and immature defenses.High and low values of rumination and defense were selected based on adding or subtracting onestandard deviation from the mean value of these variables. The positive slopes of both lines, aswell as the gap between the two lines, demonstrate the independent contributions of ruminationand defense style immaturity to depressive symptoms. Comparing between the two figures, theslopes of the lines in Fig. 1 are higher than the slopes of the lines in Fig. 2. Consistent with thefindings of Treynor et al. (2003), this speaks to the greater link between brooding and depressivesymptoms compared to the link between reflection and depressive symptoms. The significantinteractions are also evident; high defense immaturity had a greater association with depressive

1 In a separate set of analyses, gender was entered as a dummy variable into the multiple regression equations. Thefirst step consisted of the main effects of gender, rumination, and defense. The two-way interaction terms were enteredinto the second step, followed by the three-way interaction term in the third step. Gender did not interact withrumination or defense in any of the analyses.

Fig. 1. Effects of defense immaturity and brooding on dysphoria.

Fig. 2. Effects of defense immaturity and reflection on dysphoria.


symptoms at higher levels of rumination. In other words, as hypothesized, the combination ofhigh rumination and high defense immaturity led to particularly high levels of depressive symp-toms, well beyond levels associated with one risk factor alone.


6. Discussion

To answer our own question, ‘‘are all ruminative responses created equal?’’ our data suggestthat the answer is no. If we examine Figs. 1 and 2, we can note that ruminators may have aBDI level that is lower than the sample mean – provided that they have low levels of immaturedefenses. Thus, it may be that there is a specific kind of rumination that is especially problematic –rumination that leads to a lack of a constructive response to a problematic situation. Clinicalpractice has long operated on the premise that some forms of self-focused attention are helpfulin treating both physical and psychological disorders. For instance, mindfulness, or the practiceof becoming more aware of one’s own mental processes, has been shown to help with a broadrange of measures of mental and physical well being (see meta-analysis by Grossman, Niemann,Schmidt, & Walach (2004)). Of course, the practice of mindfulness does not encourage individualsto repetitively dwell on their problems as in rumination. However, we are suggesting that someruminators may be able to tap into some adaptive processes that may counteract some of thedepressive effects of rumination. If ruminators are able to generate ideas for solutions, or to reachgreater acceptance of their problems, they may be able to escape some of the deleterious effects offocusing heavily on their problems. It makes sense, in this light, that individuals with defense stylematurity would be particularly well positioned to engage in these processes. Mature defenses areassociated with better reality testing and constructive responses to problems.

Our findings also clarify, while adding complexity to, the reconceptualization of rumination asconsisting of one adaptive factor, reflective pondering, and one maladaptive factor, brooding. Asnoted in the literature, the jury remains out regarding this distinction. Capturing the essence of themixed evidence is the following passage by Treynor et al. (2003, p. 257): ‘‘reflection may be insti-gated by negative affect, or lead to negative affect in the short-term, but may eventually be adap-tive in reducing negative affect, perhaps because it leads to effective problem solving’’. Thispassage points out that reflection is not uniformly adaptive; it is associated with both increasednegative affect and reduced negative affect. We believe that the authors are correct that a criticalmoderating variable is effective problem solving. Our findings suggest that reflection is not synon-ymous with effective problem solving; rather, the combination of reflection and mature defensesmost likely allow optimal conditions for individuals to engage in constructive problem solving.Our findings suggest the same nuance in examining brooding. The combination of broodingand immature defenses is especially problematic in terms of increased depression, compared toone risk factor alone.

Several limitations regarding the study need to be noted. In testing our preliminary theoreticalideas, we utilized a convenience sample of undergraduate students. Further work with clinicalpopulations would be important to generalize the results. Also, our measurements of the studyconstructs are limited to a single measure per construct. A study incorporating multiple methodsof assessment would enrich this line of research. In particular, obtaining clinical assessments ofdepression levels and using interviewer-based measures of rumination and defense style would re-duce the problems inherent in relying solely on self-report questionnaires. Finally, our sample waspredominantly female; further tests using a sample balanced in terms of gender would allow us toexternalize the findings to both men and women.

In extending this work in future studies, it may also help to further contextualize the work onrumination within the large body of literature regarding cognitive theories of emotion (e.g., Beck,


1976; Beck et al., 1979; Deffenbacher, 1996; Feshbach, 1986). This would allow researchers todraw further connections between depressive rumination and rumination that results in otheremotions, such as anger.

Another important next step in this line of work would be to test the interaction of ruminationand defense style using a longitudinal design. This is important because of evidence that althoughboth brooding and reflection are associated with depression in the short term, important differ-ence emerge over time. In particular, reflection is associated with lowered prospective changesin depression over time (Treynor et al., 2003). It is possible that a similar effect would be foundwith respect to the interaction between reflection and immature defense style in predicting changesin depression over time.

If the results are generalizable to clinical populations, there are some potential clinical implica-tions that could result from this work. In working with depressed individuals who ruminate, ther-apists may wish to guide their clients toward retaining the positive aspects of reflecting on theirproblems (problem solving, greater self-awareness), while reducing their ruminative processes.It could be, for example, that some ruminators are driven by adaptive goals (e.g., to figure outa solution to a problem). Finding ways to meet these goals, without ruminating, may be idealfor such individuals. For example, such individuals could be encouraged to reach out interperson-ally to deal with their difficulties. Alternatively, such individuals could be taught to be more effi-cient in their problem-solving efforts in order to avoid the hazards of rumination.

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Rumination and depressive symptoms: Moderating role of defense style immaturity

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