Rumative Coping Strategies

A detailed Summary of Rumative Coping Strategies

The journal review I chose to do was "Early adolescent gender differences in the use of ruminative and distracting coping strategies" by Patricia C. Broderick. Her hypothesis was that "rumination is manifested to a greater extent by girls than by boys prior to the onset of adolescence." The independent variable in this study is the fourth and fifth grade boys and girls, meaning their actual gender is the independent variable. The dependent variable is the survey of two vignette scenarios for three different categories, being school, family, and peer groups, totaling six scenarios. The sample was four groups of fourth and fifth graders each group consisted of a different school.

Research has shown that women experience more depressive moods than men. This depressive moods and disorders can be experienced from adolescence all the way to adulthood. The most common ages for depression to appear are between thirteen and eighteen. The reason for this test is to clarify why depression occurs during adolescence because it is not understood what would cause this to happen. However it is known that early events in a person's life can lead to depression at a later time.

The survey or test that was given tested for the different

Broderick wrote {examples of ruminative statement were "when they get a bad grade (hear parents argue, get left out)," some kids really worry. The two distracting statements were, "some kids try to do something else to take their mind off of it" and "some kids just forget about it."}

Broderick wrote Rumination scores were combined to make a total score for each category. Other questions were added, "How serious did you think it was at the time?" and "Were the things you did about the problem helpful to you?" The one to seven scale was used again; one meaning not serious, four meaning pretty serious and seven meaning very serious. Also the sample was asked to answer questions about loneliness and sadness, "I feel lonely," and "I feel sad," this scale ranged from one to ten, one being once in a while, and ten being most of the time.

coping strategies used by these adolescents. The two main strategies looked for during this test were Rumination and Distraction. Rumination is, according to the document written by Broderick, "a stable, emotional-focused coping style conceived as a pattern of behaviors and thoughts that focus the individual's attention on his or her emotional state and inhibit any actions that might distract the individual from his or her mood." Broderick defines distraction as, "behaviors or thoughts that take the person's mind off the problem and lessen the impact of negative mood on information processing and memory.

The results showed that girls were

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Approximate Word count = 1004
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science