Goal-directed rumination and its antagonistic effects on problem solving: a two-week diary study

BACKGROUND: The tendency to repetitively and intrusively think about a particular negative event, goal failure, or problem (i.e., goal-directed rumination) is generally associated with impairments in well-being, thus decreasing performance in solving this failure. However, rumination is also associated with higher levels of resources invested in problem solving, likely leading to an improvement in performance. OBJECTIVES: The current study thus examines the indirect effect of rumination via various mediators on subjective problem-solving performance in the everyday context. DESIGN: Over a period of two weeks, 147 students completed a brief survey each evening (i.e., diary study). METHODS: Data were analyzed by means of a multiple mediation model in the multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) framework. RESULTS: The analyses revealed that perceived stress and negative mood negatively mediated the relationship between rumination and problem solving, while attention and effort positively mediated this relationship. Finally, both a negative direct and total effect of rumination on problem solving was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusively, goal-directed rumination exerted a negative indirect effect on subjective problem solving via perceived stress and negative mood, whereas it positively affected problem solving via attention and effort. Possible limitations and implications are discussed.