Mind-wandering in daily life in depressed individuals: An experience sampling study

A diagnostic criterion for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is difficulty concentrating and increased distractibility. One form of distraction that occurs in everyday life is mind-wandering. The current study aims to test how individuals with MDD and healthy controls differ in their mind-wandering in everyday life. Adults diagnosed with MDD (n = 53) and healthy controls (n = 53) completed a week of experience sampling, with prompts administered up to eight times per day. At each prompt, participants reported the occurrence and characteristics of their mind-wandering. They also reported levels of momentary negative affect (NA), positive affect (PA), and rumination. MDD participants reported mind-wandering almost twice as often as healthy control participants. Compared to healthy participants, MDD participants rated their mind-wandering as more negative, but did not differ in terms of temporal orientation. Higher NA and lower PA predicted mind-wandering in the MDD group but not healthy controls, even after controlling for rumination. Time-lagged analyses revealed that current mind-wandering predicted future levels of PA in MDD participants but not in healthy controls; in contrast, current NA and PA did not predict future mind-wandering. Limitations include our examination of specific forms of mind-wandering (i.e., we did not sample the full spectrum of this construct). Individuals with MDD frequently report engaging in mind-wandering in everyday life, and this appears to be coupled with affect. Mind-wandering may have maladaptive effects in MDD and could serve as a target for intervention. •Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) may have difficulties concentrating and may find that their mind wanders.•This study compared rates of mind-wandering in individuals with MDD to healthy controls over a week of experience sampling.•Mind-wandering was higher in MDD and was associated with subsequent changes in affect.•This research highlights that mind-wandering in MDD is common and suggests a potential target for intervention.