Children's responses to cognitive challenge and links to self-reported rumination |
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| Authors: | Amy L Gentzler Amanda L Wheat Cara A Palmer Rebecca A Burwell |
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| Institution: | 1. Psychology Department , West Virginia University , Morgantown , WV , USA amy.gentzler@mail.wvu.edu;3. Psychology Department , West Virginia University , Morgantown , WV , USA;4. Psychology Department , Westfield State University , Westfield , MA , USA |
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| Abstract: | We tested the hypothesis that less effective responses during a cognitive challenge would relate to higher levels of self-reported rumination in children. The sample was 100 children (55 boys, 45 girls), aged 7 to 14 years. A portion (n=65) was at high risk for depression due to having a parent with a childhood-onset mood disorder, and 35 were a low-risk comparison group. Using an impossible puzzle task, we assessed children's responses following failure across several domains: emotions (expressed anger, sadness, and negative self-statements), performance (being off-task, the time to solve subsequent puzzles, and the number solved), and physiology (heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia). Results indicated that making negative self-blaming statements during the solvable puzzles and taking more time to solve the puzzles were associated with higher levels of self-reported rumination. Our findings advance the understanding of potential correlates of children's tendency to ruminate and may have implications for children's performance on cognitive tasks. |
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| Keywords: | Rumination Depression Emotion Cognition Problem-solving Children Heart rate Respiratory sinus arrhythmia |
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