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Why do People Overthink? A Longitudinal Investigation of a Meta-Cognitive Model and Uncontrollability of Rumination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2018

Noboru Matsumoto Open the ORCID record for Noboru Matsumoto [Opens in a new window]  and
Satoshi Mochizuki
Noboru Matsumoto*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
Satoshi Mochizuki
Affiliation:
Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
*
Correspondence to Noboru Matsumoto, Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto City, Yoshida Nihonmatsucho, 606–8501Japan. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background: The meta-cognitive model of rumination is a theoretical model regarding the relationship between rumination and depression. Although meta-cognitive therapy for rumination was established based on this model, insufficient longitudinal studies addressing this model have been conducted. Moreover, the uncontrollability of rumination, suggested to be driven by negative meta-beliefs about rumination, has not been examined using this meta-cognitive model. Aims: We longitudinally examined the meta-cognitive model and its relationship with uncontrollability of rumination and depressive symptoms. Method: Undergraduate students (n = 117) were asked to complete two measurements (with a 6-month gap between them) of positive and negative meta-beliefs about rumination, causal analysis, understanding, uncontrollability of rumination and depression. Results: Cross-lagged effect modelling revealed that positive meta-beliefs predicted high causal analytic rumination. However, the results did not support the causal analytic and understanding aspects of how rumination predicted negative meta-beliefs. Negative meta-beliefs predicted high depressive symptoms, and depressive symptoms predicted high negative meta-beliefs. Negative meta-beliefs predicted high uncontrollability of rumination, whereas uncontrollability of rumination did not predict depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The results partially supported the meta-cognitive model. The prediction of depressive symptoms on negative meta-beliefs suggests that depression-related cognition might be involved in increasing negative meta-beliefs, rather than the repetitive causal analytic and understanding aspects of rumination. In line with meta-cognitive therapy, negative meta-beliefs could be a target for treating depression.

Keywords

ruminationmeta-cognitiondepressioncross-lagged effect modellinguncontrollability
Type
Brief Clinical Report
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 46 , Issue 4 , July 2018 , pp. 504 - 509
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2018 

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Footnotes

*

Author's present address: Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.

References

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