Psychological vulnerability to depression: Negative rumination, perfectionism, immodithymic personality, dysfunctional attitudes, and depressive states

Although many psychological variables predisposing people to depression have been proposed, factors common to them have not been investigated. The present study examined whether negative rumination might be a common factor in several predispositions to depression, such as perfectionism, immodithymic personality, and dysfuctional attitudes. Undergraduate students (N = 191) participated in an 8-month longitudinal study. Correlational and multiple regression analyses indicated that (1) perfectionism, immodithymic personality, and dysfunctional attitudes commonly correlate positively with negative rumination, and (2) negative rumination, but not perfectionism, immodithymic personality, or dysfunctional attitudes, was a significant predictor of depression. These findings suggest that negative rumination, as a common factor of vulnerability to depression, has a place in the mechanism of depression caused by perfectionism, immodithymic personality, and dysfunctional attitudes.