Early Adolescent Gender Differences in the Use of Ruminative and Distracting Coping Strategies

Abstract

Recent literature reviews of the antecedents of adolescent depression propose that rumination is one of the risk factors that has been associated with higher rates of depression among girls. Rumination is defined as a stable, emotion-focused coping style that involves directing attention inwardly toward negative feelings and thoughts. Distraction involves turning attention away from unpleasant thoughts or events to reduce negative feelings. Investigated in this study was the preference for ruminative or distracting coping in 174 4th- and 5th-grade students. Participants' coping styles were assessed for academic, family, and peer problem situations by means of quantitative and free response analyses. Girls were more likely than boys were to endorse a ruminative approach to deal with all stressors. Spontaneous responses to vignettes depicting problems revealed that girls produced more ruminative and self-focusing responses to all problem areas, whereas boys used more problem-solving and distraction.