Positive beliefs about rumination in depressed and non-depressed pregnant women: a preliminary investigation

No research to date has examined the presence of positive beliefs about rumination in depressed pregnant women. Exploring these beliefs among pregnant women is important because such beliefs have been identified as useful targets for intervention aimed at reducing depressive symptoms more generally. The present study examined positive beliefs about rumination in depressed and non-depressed pregnant women. A sample of 21 depressed and 22 non-depressed women were compared on measures of positive beliefs about rumination, controlling for perceived lack of social support. Mann-Whitney U tests and logistic regression analysis were performed on the data. Mann-Whitney U tests revealed that both positive beliefs about rumination and perceived lack of social support scores were significantly higher for depressed than non-depressed women. The logistic regression analysis indicated that positive beliefs about rumination were a predictor of depression classification over and above perceived lack of social support. These findings suggest that targeting positive beliefs about rumination may be a useful intervention for tackling depression in pregnancy.