Effects of Rumination on Child and Adolescent Depressive Reactions to a Natural Disaster: the 2010 Nashville Flood

The current longitudinal study tested hypotheses about Nolen-Hoeksema's (1987, 1991) response styles theory (RST) of depression in a sample of child and adolescent public school students. Wave 1 measures of rumination, distraction, and depression were obtained 6 months prior to the 2010 Nashville flood. Similar measures plus a measure of flood-related stressors were administered at Wave 2, approximately ten days after students returned to school after the flood. Results revealed an indirect effect of preflood rumination on postflood depressive symptoms via the intervening variable of postflood rumination, and partial mediation of the effect of preflood depression on postflood depression. Further, the interaction of rumination with flood-related stressors was moderated by age, suggesting that rumination may not become a strong cognitive diathesis for depression until adolescence. Developmental implications emerged for the treatment of child and adolescent victims of natural disasters and for the application of RST to children and adolescents.