Effects of Rumination on State Shame in Adolescents: An Online Experimental Investigation

Purpose Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the experience of shame and the development of ruminative habits. We sought to examine whether and how rumination potentiates shame, a risk factor for psychopathology. Cognitive research in adults has proposed that the impact of rumination on emotion depends on its processing style, but this has been tested mainly for basic (e.g. sadness) but not complex emotions (e.g. shame). We predicted that abstract rumination (e.g. focusing on “why”) would increase shame to a greater extent than concrete rumination (e.g. focusing on “how”) and distraction. Methods Adolescents ( N = 128; 16–19 years old) underwent an online study. They were instructed to focus on a past event that caused feelings of shame (by retrieving a vivid memory). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups prompting engagement in abstract rumination, concrete rumination, or distraction. Self-report measures assessed state shame before and after the experimental manipulations. Trait self-critical rumination (SCR) was also measured at baseline. Results We found a significant reduction in state shame in the distraction group, but not in concrete or abstract rumination groups, nor significant differences between the rumination groups. Trait-SCR did not predict levels of state shame following rumination. Conclusion Unlike prior research predominantly in adults and primary emotions, abstract and concrete rumination did not have different consequences for shame in adolescents. Rather than focussing solely on changing processing style, interventions for adolescent shame may need to interrupt rumination more broadly. Models of rumination derived from adult samples may require refinement for adolescent shame. However, future research is required to replicate and extend these effects with additional design improvements.