The effect of rumination as a mediator of elevated anxiety sensitivity in major depression

Previous research has found anxiety sensitivity (AS) to be elevated in persons with major depression, and a facet of AS referred to as fear of cognitive dyscontrol or fear of mental incapacitation has been associated with severity of depressed mood. The present study sought to replicate and extend these findings in a sample of 142 outpatients with a primary diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder After statistically controlling for the higher order effect of neuroticism, the AS fear of cognitive dyscontrol facet was found to be a significant predictor of severity of depressed mood. However, further analysis provided strong evidence that the effect of this AS facet is mediated by rumination over depressed mood. Results are discussed in the context of "depression sensitivity," a proposed cognitive structure that may underlie the cognitive process of rumination over depression symptoms.