The role of rumination in coping with bereavement

Abstract

The loss of a significant other is one of the most stressful events in life. Rumination is a common response to bereavement in which bereaved individuals engage in preoccupations, repetitive thoughts and emotions associated with the loss. Research on rumination has been predominately on studying bereavement in mood-related context and viewing rumination as a unitary construct. Taking a multifaceted view, this study aims to explore the inter-relationships among different types of rumination, the effect of different rumination types on bereavement outcomes, and the indirect effect of different rumination types on bereavement outcomes moderated by avoidance and confrontation coping responses, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the role of rumination in coping with bereavement.

One hundred and thirty two Hong Kong Chinese adults completed an on-line questionnaire assessing rumination, coping responses and bereavement outcomes. Results indicate the four types of rumination, namely Brooding, Reflection, Intrusive rumination and Deliberate rumination are positively associated with each other. The correlation r ranges from 0.23 to 0.63, and all with statistical significance. Brooding and Intrusive rumination are positively associated with distress (r ranged from .38 to .63, p<.01) and negatively with life satisfaction (r= -35 and -.240 respectively, p<.01). Among the avoidance coping responses examined, Cognitive Avoidance is found to buffer the level of anxiety for the high brooders or those with more intrusive rumination. While avoidance coping strategies have been portrayed as maladaptive and literature tends to link the use of avoidance strategies to poor outcomes, present findings suggest that the use of Cognitive Avoidance can lower the influence of rumination on anxiety symptoms when one is disrupted by highly intrusive rumination (ß = -.24, R2= .39, p < .01), and brooding (ß = -.14, R2= .48, p < .05). This study not only advances the theoretical understanding of the concept of rumination by disputing the unitary conceptualization, it also clarifies the distinctive roles of the different rumination types in affecting bereavement outcomes, and their interplay with coping mechanisms on impacting bereavement outcomes. Methodologically, results suggest scales assessing rumination and bereavement outcomes should be reviewed and revised to capture aspects that reflect the experience in a more comprehensive and precise manner. On practice level, it is suggested that assessment should be conducted to identify the rumination types and distress and targeted strategies be delineated with respect to bereaved individuals’ specific coping patterns and the ways they ruminate. (393 words)