Patterns of Rumination by Young and Older Adults

Abstract

A lot of attention has been given to the negative effects of both inhibitory deficits and rumination but little work has compared both: research on inhibitory deficits has focused on older adults whereas research on rumination has focused on young adults. This study examined the pattern of rumination by both young and older adults and compared rumination to working memory, inhibition, and mood. Based on findings from a small pilot study, it was hypothesized that older adults would ruminate less often than young adults and that the structure of rumination by young and older adults would differ, including the relationship between rumination, working memory, inhibition, and mood. These hypotheses were supported. Older adults reported less rumination than young adults and older adults' rumination could be modeled as a unitary construct whereas young adults' rumination was composed of two forms of rumination, a tendency toward brooding and reflection versus a more general form of rumination on sadness. The relationships between rumination and working memory, inhibition, and mood also change with age. Older adults' rumination was not associated with inhibitory deficits whereas both forms of rumination by young adults were. The implications of these findings for theories of inhibitory deficits and emotional regulation are discussed.