Childhood and adult sexual abuse, rumination on sadness, and dysphoria

Objective: The study addressed the hypothesis that adults reporting sexual abuse are more likely to exhibit a general tendency to ruminate on sadness. The relations between reported abuse, rumination on sadness, and dysphoria were also examined. Method: Undergraduate students (101 women and 100 men) reported on childhood and adult sexual abuse and instances of intimidation, as well as completing the Rumination on Sadness Scale [Journal of Personality Assessment 75 (2000) 404] and the Beck Depression Inventory [Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects, Harper & Row, New York]. Results: Participants who reported more abuse were more likely to report rumination on sadness. Both reports of abuse and of rumination were linked to dysphoria. Overall, causal modeling indicated that two models were equally effective in accounting for the data: (a) victimization leads to dysphoria, with this relation being partly mediated by rumination and (b) victimization leads to dysphoria, which in turn leads to rumination. Both models are consistent with prior research. For men considered separately, both models were equally effective. For women, model a best accounted for the data. Conclusion: One of the pathways by which victimization may lead to depression in adulthood is by encouraging the development of a tendency to ruminate on sadness. Alternatively, victimization may lead to depression by other means, and the experienced depression or dysphoria may foster rumination. Objectif: Cette étude concerne l’hypothèse que les adultes qui font état d’abus sexuels ont le plus tendance à présenter une tendance aux ruminations mélancoliques. Les relations entre l’abus rapporté, la rumination mélancolique et la dysphorie ont aussi été examinées. Méthode: Des étudiants (101 femmes et 100 hommes) on témoigné d’abus sexuels subis dans l’enfance et à l’âge adulte et donné des exemples de menaces. Ils ont également rempli l’échelle “Rumination on Sadness” [Journal of Personality Assessment 75 (2000) 404] et le Beck Depression Inventory [Depression: Clinical, Experimental, and Theoretical Aspects, Harper & Row, New York]. Résultats: Les participants qui ont rapporté le plus d’abus ont aussi rapporté plus de rumination mélancolique. Rapporter abus et rumination étaient liés à la dysphorie. Dans l’ensemble la modélisation pour trouver la cause a montré que deux modèles étaient également efficaces pour rendre compte des données: (a) la victimisation conduit à la dysphorie,