In addition to serving as a risk factor for depression and anxiety, rumination is also a consequence of general life stressors. A longitudinal study of adults found that participants who experienced greater chronic stress showed increased tendencies to ruminate and, in turn, increases in depressive symptoms over one year (Nolen-Hoeksema, Larson, & Grayson, 1999). Similarly, in a recent prospective study of adolescents, rumination mediated the relationship between stressful life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety (McLaughlin & Hatzenbuehler, 2009). In addition to general life stress, specific stressors, such as childhood sexual abuse, lead to greater rumination (Conway, Mendelson, Giannopoulos, Csank, & Holm, 2004; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1998; Spasojevic & Alloy, 2002).
