Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article

Factor Structure of the Ruminative Responses Scale

A Community-Sample Study

Published Online:December 10, 2014https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000231

Abstract

Abstract. The 10-item Ruminative Responses Scale is used to measure two facets of rumination: brooding and reflection. These subscales are used to seek differential correlations with other variables of interest (e.g., depression). The validity of these facets, however, is questionable because brooding and reflection were distinguished based on factor analyses, but subsequent analyses have been inconsistent. We investigated these facets using factor analyses in a large community-based sample (N = 625). Other measures of rumination and depression were used as criteria for validity analyses. Only the brooding items formed a robust scale. A consistent reflection factor did not emerge. Brooding showed convergent validity with other measures of rumination as well as depression, all rs > .4. Brooding was also higher among participants with a history of depression compared with never-depressed participants. Implications for the interpretation of past research and for conducting future research are discussed.

References

  • Algorta, G. P., Youngstrom, E. A., Frazier, T. W., Freeman, A. J., Youngstrom, J. K. & Findling, R. L. (2011). Suicidality in pediatric bipolar disorder: Predictor or outcome of family processes and mixed mood presentation? Bipolar Disorder, 13, 76–86. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2010.00886.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y., Hogan, M. E., Whitehouse, W. G., Rose, D. T., Robinson, M. S., … Lapkin, J. B. (2000). The Temple-Wisconsin Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression Project: Lifetime history of Axis I psychopathology in individuals at high and low cognitive risk for depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 403–418. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.109.3.403 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Armey, M. F., Fresco, D. M., Moore, M. T., Mennin, D. S., Turk, C. L., Heimberg, R. G., … Alloy, L. B. (2009). Brooding and pondering: Isolating the active ingredients of depressive rumination with exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Assessment, 16, 315–327. doi: 10.1177/1073191109340388 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Bentler, P. M. (1990). Comparative fix indexes in structural models. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 238–246. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.238 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Browne, M. W. & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. BollenJ. S. LongEds., Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Burwell, R. A. & Shirk, S. R. (2007). Subtypes of rumination in adolescence: Associations between brooding, reflection, depressive symptoms, and coping. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 26, 56–65. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cella, D., Riley, W., Stone, A., Rothrock, N., Reeve, B., Yount, S., … Hays, R. & On behalf of the PROMIS Cooperative Group. (2010). The Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) developed and tested its first wave of adult self-reported health outcome item banks: 2005–2008. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 63, 1179–1194. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2010.04.011 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cohen, P., Cohen, J., Aiken, L. S. & West, S. G. (1999). The problem of units and the circumstance for POMP. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 34, 315–346. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Beurs, E., Van Dyck, R., Marquenie, L. A., Lange, A. & Blonk, R. W. B. (2001). De DASS: een vragenlijst voor het meten van depressie, angst en stress [The DASS: A questionnaire for the measurement of depression, anxiety, and stress]. Gedragstherapie, 34, 35–53. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • DeWalt, D. A., Rothrock, N., Yount, S., & Stone, A., On behalf of the PROMIS Cooperative Group. (2007). Evaluation of item candidates – the PROMIS qualitative item review. Medical Care, 45, S12–S21. doi: 10.1097/01.mlr.0000254567.79743.e2 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D. & Christian, L. M. (2008). Internet, mail, and mixed-mode surveys: The tailored design method. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ehring, T. & Watkins, E. R. (2008). Repetitive Negative Thinking as a Transdiagnostic Process. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 1, 192–205. doi: 10.1680/ijct.2008.1.3.192 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Feinstein, J. S., Duff, M. C. & Tranel, D. (2010). Sustained experience of emotion after loss of memory in patients with amnesia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107, 7674–7679. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0914054107 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Griffith, J. W., Zinbarg, R. E., Craske, M. G., Mineka, S., Rose, R. D., Waters, A. M. & Sutton, J. M. (2010). Neuroticism as a common dimension in the internalizing disorders. Psychological Medicine, 40, 1125–1136. doi: 10.1017/S0033291709991449 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Horn, J. L. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrica, 30, 179–185. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hu, L. & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Joormann, J., Dkane, M. & Gotlib, I. H. (2006). Adaptive and maladaptive components of rumination? Diagnostic specificity and relation to depressive biases. Behavior Therapy, 37, 269–280. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kanter, J. W., Mulick, P., Busch, A. M., Berlin, K. S. & Martell, C. R. (2007). The behavioral activation for depression scale (BADS): Psychometric properties and factor structure. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 29, 191–202. doi: 10.1007/s10862-006-9038-5 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Kanter, J. W., Rusch, L. C., Busch, A. M. & Sedivy, S. K. (2009). Validation of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) in a community sample with elevated depressive symptoms. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 36–42. doi: 10.1007/s10862-008-9088-y First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lovibond, S. H. & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Sydney: Psychology Foundation. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Marsh, H. W., Kit-Tai, H. & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis-testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indices and dangers in overgeneralizing Hu and Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11, 320–341. doi: 10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • McDonald, R. P. & Marsh, H. W. (1990). Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 247–255. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Muthén, L. K. & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user’s guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. & Morrow, J. (1991). A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 115–121. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E. & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 400–424. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Raes, F., Hoes, D., Van Gucht, D., Kanter, J. W. & Hermans, D. (2010). The Dutch version of the Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS): Psychometric properties and factor structure. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 41, 246–250. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2010.02.001 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Raes, F., Schoofs, H., Hoes, D., Hermans, D., Van Den Eede, F. & Franck, E. (2009). “Reflection” en “brooding” als subtypes van rumineren: een herziening van de Ruminative Response Scale [Reflection and brooding as subtypes of rumination: A revision of the Ruminative Response Scale]. Gedragstherapie, 42, 205–214. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Roberts, J. E., Gilboa, E. & Gotlib, I. H. (1998). Ruminative response style and vulnerability to episodes of dysphoria: Gender, neuroticism, and episode duration. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22, 401–423. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Robinson, M. & Alloy, L. (2003). Negative cognitive styles and stress-reactive rumination interact to predict depression: A prospective study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 275–292. doi: 10.1023/A:1023914416469 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rood, L. & Roelofs, J. (2012). Stress-Reactive Rumination Scale for Children (SRRS-C). Gedragstherapie, 45, 89–91. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rude, S. S., Maestas, K. L. & Neff, K. (2007). Paying attention to distress: What’s wrong with rumination? Cognition and Emotion, 21, 843–864. doi: 10.1080/02699930601056732 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schoofs, H., Hermans, D. & Raes, F. (2010). Brooding and reflection as subtypes of rumination: evidence from confirmatory factor analysis in nonclinical samples using the Dutch Ruminative Response Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32, 609–617. doi: 10.1007/s10862-010-9182-9 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Segerstrom, S. C., Stanton, A. L., Alden, L. E. & Shortridge, B. E. (2003). A multidimensional structure for repetitive thought: What’s on your mind, and how, and how much? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 909–921. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.909 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R. & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 247–259. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Tucker, L. R. & Lewis, C. (1973). The reliability coefficient for maximum likelihood factor analysis. Psychometrika, 38, 1–10. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Van der Does, A. J. W., Barnhofer, T. & Williams, J. M. G. (2003). The Major Depression Questionnaire (MDQ). Retrieved from http://www.dousa.nl/publications_depression.htm#mdq First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Watkins, E. R. (2009). Depression rumination and co-morbidity: Evidence for brooding as a transdiagnostic process. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 27, 160–175. doi: 10.1007/s10942-009-0098-9 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Whitmer, A. & Gotlib, I. H. (2011). Brooding and reflection reconsidered: A factor analytic examination of rumination in currently depression, formerly depressed, and never depressed individuals. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35, 99–107. doi: 10.1007/s10608-011-9361-3 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Williams, J. M. G., Van der Does, A. J. W., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C. & Segal, Z. V. (2008). Cognitive reactivity, suicidal ideation and future fluency: Investigating a differential activation theory of suicidality. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 83–104. doi: 10.1007/s10608-006-9105-y First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar