Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Department of Psychological Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2019 Jul 17;53(8):743-755. doi: 10.1093/abm/kay081.
Rumination, thinking about a negative mood repetitively, is a common cognitive process that may affect health behavior engagement or avoidance. Little research has examined relations between rumination and health behaviors.
We aimed to test links between rumination and health behaviors as well as possible moderators and mediators of those links.
We used an 11-day online daily diary design. Health behavior outcomes included fruit intake, vegetable intake, exercise, alcohol intake, sexual risk taking behavior, and cigarette smoking.
Rumination was related to alcohol intake at the within-person level. Using multivariate modeling, we found that significant within-person mediators for rumination to health behaviors included impulsivity, amotivation, self control, and using health behaviors as coping, with each of these mediating relationships for one to four out of the five health behavior outcomes. A significant between-person moderator includes perceived behavioral control for alcohol intake only, and intention was not a significant moderator of the rumination to health behavior relationships.
Rumination affects various maladaptive health behaviors differentially, through a number of mechanisms and under a moderating condition whereby those who feel more control are better able to buffer rumination's deleterious effects. Future interventions can apply the results to individual and multiple behavior change interventions for chronic disease prevention, especially for those who are particularly suffering from ruminative thoughts.
反刍是一种反复思考消极情绪的常见认知过程,可能会影响健康行为的参与或回避。很少有研究探讨反刍与健康行为之间的关系。
我们旨在检验反刍与健康行为之间的联系,以及这些联系的可能调节因素和中介因素。
我们采用了 11 天的在线日常日记设计。健康行为结果包括水果摄入、蔬菜摄入、运动、饮酒、性行为冒险和吸烟。
反刍与个体内的饮酒量有关。使用多元模型,我们发现反刍对健康行为的显著个体内中介因素包括冲动性、动机缺乏、自我控制和将健康行为用作应对策略,这些中介关系适用于五种健康行为结果中的一种到四种。一个显著的个体间调节因素包括对饮酒的感知行为控制,而意图不是反刍与健康行为关系的显著调节因素。
反刍通过多种机制对各种适应不良的健康行为产生不同的影响,在一种调节条件下,那些感觉控制能力更强的人能够更好地缓冲反刍的不良影响。未来的干预措施可以将这些结果应用于个体和多种行为改变干预措施,以预防慢性病,特别是对那些特别受反刍思维影响的人。