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Repetitive Negative Thinking in Anticipation of a Stressor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2014

Peter M. McEvoy ,
Michelle L. Moulds  and
Alison E.J. Mahoney
Peter M. McEvoy*
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Interventions, Perth, Western Australia, Australia School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Michelle L. Moulds
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Alison E.J. Mahoney
Affiliation:
Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Peter M. McEvoy, PhD, Centre for Clinical Interventions, 223 James Street, Northbridge, Perth WA 6003, Australia. Email: peter.mcevoy@health.wa.gov.au
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Abstract

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been confirmed as a transdiagnostic phenomenon, but most measures of RNT are contaminated with diagnosis-specific content. The first aim of this study was to examine the structure of an anticipatory version of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ-Ant) as a trans-emotional measure of anticipatory RNT. The original RTQ was completed with reference to a past stressor, whereas the RTQ-Ant instructs respondents to link their responses to a future stressor. The second aim was to test if the associations between a range of emotions (anxiety, depression, shame, anger, general distress) and the original post-stressor version of the RTQ would be replicated. Undergraduates (N = 175, 61% women) completed the RTQ-Ant, along with measures of various emotions, with reference to upcoming university exams. Principal axis factor analysis yielded many similarities between the original post-event RTQ and the RTQ-Ant, and some differences. The RTQ-Ant was comprised of two subscales: the RNT subscale measures engagement in repetitive thinking, negative thoughts about oneself, and ‘why’ questions; and the Isolated Contemplation (IC) subscale included items referring to isolating oneself and reflecting on negative thoughts, feelings, loneliness, and listening to sad music. RNT was more strongly related to negative emotions than IC. The RTQ-Ant appears to be a reliable measure of anticipatory RNT that is associated with a broad array of emotions.

Keywords

ruminationworryrepetitive thinkingtransdiagnosticquestionnaire
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , April 2014 , pp. 18 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

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