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Brooding rumination and cardiovascular reactivity to a laboratory‐based interpersonal stressor
Author(s) -
Woody Mary L.,
Burkhouse Katie L.,
Birk Samantha L.,
Gibb Brandon E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.12397
Subject(s) - rumination , psychology , stressor , interpersonal communication , reactivity (psychology) , interpersonal interaction , social psychology , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , cognition , psychiatry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
There is a well‐known link between stress and depression, but diathesis‐stress models suggest that not all individuals are equally susceptible to stress. The current study examined if brooding rumination, a known risk factor for depression, influences cardiovascular reactivity to a laboratory‐based interpersonal stressor. Sixty‐five women watched a baseline video and were exposed to an interpersonal stressor while high frequency heart rate variability ( HRV ) was collected. We found that women who endorsed higher levels of brooding rumination exhibited greater HRV withdrawal from baseline to stressor, an effect that was maintained when we controlled for levels of depression. This physiological vulnerability, when combined with high levels of stress, may be one mechanism underlying how brooding rumination increases depression risk.