The Effects of Experiential Avoidance and Rumination on Depression among College Students

The article reports the results of three studies that compare the effects of experiential avoidance and rumination on depression among college students. Study 1 (N = 748) evaluated the cross-sectional association among rumination, experiential avoidance, and depression. Study 2 (N = 887) was a replication of Study I. In Study 3, a subsample of 72 females was drawn from the larger sample of Study 1. In this prospective, longitudinal study, it was estimated whether rumination and experiential avoidance at Time]. (the beginning of the semester) predicted depression symptoms 8 to 1.2 weeks later. When these constructs were measured cross-sectionally in Studies I. and 2, an interaction effect was found between avoidance and rumination; avoidance was only associated with depression symptoms when rumination was high. No interaction was found in the longitudinal study Neither rumination nor experiential avoidance predicted depression symptoms at Time 2 when depression symptoms at Time I were entered as a covariate. These results are discussed with reference to future directions in comparing different dimensions of coping as they relate to depression.