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Relationship Quality Buffers Association Between Co-rumination and Depressive Symptoms Among First Year College Students

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Co-rumination, the tendency to dwell on negative events and feelings with a relationship partner, is an aspect of relationships that has been associated with socioemotional adjustment tradeoffs and is found to be associated with depressive symptoms. However, depending on the context in which it occurs, co-rumination is not necessarily associated with detriments to mental well-being. Differences in relationship quality within certain relationships may explain why co-rumination is not always associated with depressive symptoms. In the current study, we utilized self-report measures in an ethnically diverse sample (53.5 % non-White) of 307 first term college students (65 % female) in order to elucidate how co-rumination between roommates may be associated with depressive symptoms. We found that the association between co-rumination and depressive symptoms was moderated by relationship quality such that co-rumination in a high quality relationship was not associated with depressive symptoms whereas the opposite was true in low quality relationships. Moreover, we found moderated mediation, such that the variance in the association between co-rumination and depressive symptoms was explained via self-esteem, but only for those co-ruminating within a low quality relationship. These results suggest that relationship quality may impact the extent to which co-rumination is associated with depressive symptoms among first year college students.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was supported, in part, by a successful fundraising campaign conducted via experiment.com. The authors would like to thank the experiment.com staff for their help in addition to all the backers for their generous donations. Additionally, gratitude is extended to the members of the Developmental Social Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois for their general comments and feedback during study design and development.

Authors’ Contributions

JFGM designed, developed and implemented the study in addition to performing statistical analyses, interpreting results and drafting the manuscript. MEM aided in the development of the study, provided critical input on statistical analysis and interpretation, and helped to draft the manuscript. EHT supervised the design, development and implementation of the study, provided critical input on statistical analyses and interpretation, and made critical edits to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 603 East Daniel St., Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    João F. Guassi Moreira, Michelle E. Miernicki & Eva H. Telzer

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  1. João F. Guassi Moreira
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  2. Michelle E. Miernicki
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  3. Eva H. Telzer
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Correspondence to Eva H. Telzer.

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Guassi Moreira, J.F., Miernicki, M.E. & Telzer, E.H. Relationship Quality Buffers Association Between Co-rumination and Depressive Symptoms Among First Year College Students. J Youth Adolescence 45, 484–493 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0396-8

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