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The Relationship Between Stress and Negative Emotion Clinical Research and Trials Research Article ISSN: 2059-0377 The relationship between stress and negative emotion: The Mediating role of rumination Jiaxuan Du, Jiali Huang, Yuanyuan An and Wei Xu* School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, P.R. China Abstract Using ambulatory assessment, the current study investigated the dynamic impact of stress on negative emotions in daily life and explored the mediating role of rumination in this relationship. A total of 100 college students were recruited and reported their perceived stress, current ruminative thinking and negative emotions (including anxiety, depression, and anger) 5 times a day for 7 consecutive days. Mixed model analyses indicated that the higher level of stress at the current time predicted increased negative emotions at the next time including depression, anger and anxiety. At within-person level, rumination significantly mediated the relationship of stress to depression, anger, and anxiety. At between-person level, overall rumination significantly mediated the relationship between stress and angry. Findings suggested that people who perceived higher level stress may report more rumination, which in turn may lead to increases in negative emotions. Introduction is a form of stress response [9-10]. Fiedler, et al. [11] found that stress can positively predict anxiety symptoms. What’s more, a study Individuals may encounter a variety of stress events in daily life. on 5236 college students found that the higher level of stress on If those events are disposed inappropriately, there will be a high learning, interpersonal relationship and other issues they are facing, probability of producing a series of negative consequences. Findings the more likely they are to show angry emotions. Another study on from previous studies have shown that psychological stress responses 939 American teenagers also reported that individuals’ perceived stress often include negative emotions. In other words, people experience positively predicts their anger, which in turn affects their misbehavior, a complex array of negative emotions, such as depression, anxiety, such as substance use [12]. Also, the perceived stress in cancer patients anger, and distress during real-life stressful events [1-3]. Those indicated a significant positive correlation to anger and depression [13]. negative emotions may potentially lead to poorer health outcomes and subsequent increased risk of complications [4], a decreased quality of However, most of previous studies have used questionnaires as life [5], and increased health care usage [6]. measure method. Retrospective and heuristic biases of traditional assessment instruments are known to systematically distort Many studies have discussed the relationship between stress and recollections of past experiences and events. To minimize them, negative emotions. However, understanding the mechanisms of stress Ambulatory Assessment (AA) was recently raised. AA is a method associated with negative emotions is critical, as it has the potential to provide an opportunity for those in stress to reduce their negative used to repeated sampling of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors as close in emotions. The current study aims to investigate the association between time to the experience as possible in the naturalistic environment [14]. stress and negative emotions in a daily-life context, and further to It can provide real-time (or near real-time) assessments and create explore the potential mechanism by considering the role of rumination. more stable estimates of phenomena that fluctuate over time compared to single time-point measurement [15]. Stress and Negative Emotions As mentioned above, appraisals in stress process generate emotions Stress is defined as a relationship between individuals and that vary in quality and intensity, and numerous studies proved the environment that is appraised as personally significant and as taxing association between stress and negative emotions. However, few or exceeding resources for coping [7]. According to Stress and coping of them examined the cognitive style as the mechanism in this theory [8] a framework is provided to testing hypotheses about the relationship. Rumination, as one of the most typical negative cognitive stress process and its relation to physical and mental health. Certain styles, will be explored to investigate its role in the relationship between emotions like anger, shame, and anxiety usually arise from stress, stress and negative emotions. which refers to harmful, threatening, or challenging conditions, showing a relationship between stress and emotion. Based on Lazarus and Folkman’s theory [8], stress and emotion depend on how an individual evaluates (appraises) transactions with the environments. During the appraisal, when people find something significant to self is Correspondence to: Wei Xu, School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, uncontrollable, they tend to feel high levels of stress. Nanjing, P.R. China, Tel: +86-25-83598362; E-mail: [email protected] In terms of the relationship between stress and negative emotions, Key words: stress, negative emotions, ambulatory assessment, moderating effect researchers have reached a consensus that they are closely associated Received: January 12, 2018; Accepted: January 29, 2018; Published: January 31, with each other. For instance, some researchers found that depression 2018 Clin Res Trials, 2018 doi: 10.15761/CRT.1000208 Volume 4(1): 1-5 Jiaxuan Du (2018) The relationship between stress and negative emotion: The Mediating role of rumination Rumination and Negative Emotions Materials and Methods Rumination has evolved as a construct of growing interest among Participants researchers over the past decades. Fritz [16] defined rumination as the thinking about distressing experiences, the searching for the meaning of All participants were recruited from a Chinese university in negative events and the thinking about what can be done to change the this study. Recruitment was conducted through advertising in the situation in relation to negative events. Rumination has been described university. A total of 100 students completed the study with an average as having both state and trait components [17,18]. The current study age of 20.64 years (SD=2.79). Forty-five of them (45%) were male. Of pays attention to its state component, which means focusing on current these, 86 percent (N=86) were undergraduate students, 14 percent feelings and negative thoughts. (N=14) were postgraduate students. None of the participants reported any history of mental disorders. As part of Response Styles Theory, rumination is considered as a cognitive style associated with negative, chronic, and persistent Procedures thoughts about threats to the self. Within this theory, ruminative The participants were requested to attend a laboratory session after thinking is a pattern that individual’s attention, thoughts, and behaviors agreeing to participate in the study, in order to know the study process are focused on the negative emotional state [19]. Researchers found detailed. The survey was programmed based on a stratified interval when rumination was partly inhibited, the perceived distress may also scheme. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire, be decreased [20]. Therefore, rumination is a vital factor that cause which measured the stress, rumination, and negative emotions (i.e., negative emotions. depression, anger, and anxiety), five times a day (at 9 am, 11 am, 3:00 According to Broderick [21], rumination aggravates depression pm, 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm) lasting one week. The questionnaire that and other negative affective states. Still other studies examining accessed via a web link was sent to the participants’ WeChat (a popular rumination in individuals supported this conclusion and demonstrated Chinese social media and messaging platform) by the researchers at rumination to be a risk factor for depression [22-24]. Previous studies scheduled times every day. The participants were required to complete also found that rumination increased anger [25,26]and predicted the questionnaire within one hour after they received the link on the anxiety symptoms [27]. In addition, Muris, et al. [28] found the results WeChat. The participants who completed the one-week assessment indicated that rumination was positively linked to both anxiety and would get 10 RMB. depression. Therefore, rumination can be considered as a probable mechanism for the development of negative emotions. Measures Stress and Rumination Stress Stress was assessed by two questions: “Do you feel nervous and It is demonstrated by Nolen-Hoeksema, et al. [19] that rumination stress at the moment?”, and “Do you have the feeling that you can’t in response to stress is associated concurrently with depressive control the important things in your life?”. Item was rated on a 7-point symptoms. Many researchers believed that information processing Likert scale ranging from 0 (“not at all”) to 6 (“very much so”). Higher impairments contribute to ruminative tendencies [29-31], when score indicates higher level of stress. Items assessed one’s feeling of individuals encounter of stress, cognitive control impairments may stress at that moment. The questionnaire had good internal consistency contribute to higher levels of rumination. Another study has similar reliability in the current ample, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81. conclusion that rumination is a common response to stress in adolescence [32]. In an experimental
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