Emotion regulation involves a number of distinct processes (Gross, 2001), many of which may be salient for sexual minorities (Miller & Kaiser, 2001). Rumination is one specific emotion regulation response that may be especially likely to account for the association between stigma-related stress and internalizing disorders. Rumination is defined as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy in which an individual passively and repetitively focuses on his/her symptoms of distress and the circumstances surrounding these symptoms (Nolen-Hoeksema, 1991). Rumination is a robust predictor of depressive and anxiety symptoms (Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Lyubomirsky, 2008) as well as the onset and maintenance of depressive and anxiety disorders (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2000).
