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The Impact of Neuroticism on Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Elderly Adults: the Mediating Role of Rumination

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Abstract

This study aimed to examine the mediating role of rumination on the relationship between neuroticism and anxiety–depression among a sample of 405 elderly adults from China. The participants completed a questionnaire packet containing neuroticism, ruminative response, and depression and anxiety scales. Path analysis was adopted to test the mediating effects, and bootstrap methods were applied to assess the magnitude of indirect effects. Results showed that anxiety and depression were positively correlated with neuroticism and rumination. Neuroticism positively influenced the symptoms of anxiety and depression, and this relationship was partially mediated by rumination. This study expounded the mediating role of rumination underlying the positive association between neuroticism and anxiety–depression in older adults.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31160201), the National Social Science Foundation Education Program (Grant No. CEA130144), and National Social Science Fund (11BGL047).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100, Guilin Road, Shanghai, 200234, China

    Xiaohui Chen, Wendian Shi & Yangen Zhou

  2. College of Humanities and Social Science, Anhui Agriculture University, Hefei, China

    Xiaohui Chen

  3. Center for Finance and Accounting Research, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, China

    Jun Pu

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  1. Xiaohui Chen
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Correspondence to Wendian Shi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Xiaohui Chen declares that she has no conflict of interest. Jun Pu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Wendian Shi declares that he has no conflict of interest. Yangen Zhou declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Chen, X., Pu, J., Shi, W. et al. The Impact of Neuroticism on Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Elderly Adults: the Mediating Role of Rumination. Curr Psychol 39, 42–50 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9740-3

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