Anger Rumination in Early Adolescence: Risk Factor or Outcome of Depressive Symptoms? A Prospective Study

Anger rumination is a maladaptive cognitive-emotional process associated with aversive adjustment outcomes. Despite of evidence showing a close relationship between anger rumination and depressive symptoms across adolescence, their longitudinal relationship is still unknown. The goal of the present study was to examine the bidirectional association between self-reported anger rumination and depressive symptoms at two waves, spaced 1-year. Participants were 304 early adolescents (44.7% boys; M-age = 10.80 years, SD = 0.16). Cross-lagged analyses showed that depressive symptoms predicted increases in anger rumination but not vice versa. These relationships were consistent across boys and girls. Overall, the findings suggest that depressive symptoms may be a potential risk factor for anger rumination in early adolescence. Implications for preventions and treatments are also discussed.