A multimethod assessment to study the relationship between rumination and gender differences.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional laboratory study with non-randomized group comparison (graded by design analogy).
PubMed 32686855 · doi:10.1111/sjop.12666
What was done
Sixty-eight participants (30 males, 38 females) completed self-report measures of rumination (Rumination and Reflection Questionnaire) and emotion regulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, DERS-16). Participants performed a Stroop task before (T1) and after (T2) an experimental baseline-stress-recovery paradigm while continuous heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded to assess physiological reactivity and attentional control across genders.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without providing numerical values, effect sizes, or test statistics. Rumination scores were higher in females than in males. In males, rumination was more strongly linked to overall impaired emotion regulation. No gender differences in rumination or emotion dysregulation were observed in the physiological (HRV) data.
Why it matters
This study provides evidence on how subjective emotional regulation processes and autonomic physiological responses may decouple across genders during cognitive and stress challenges.
Limits
The sample size was small (n = 68), limiting power to detect subtle physiological differences. No exact figures, confidence intervals, or p-values were reported in the abstract. The cross-sectional, laboratory-based design prevents establishing causal relationships or generalizability to naturalistic settings.
Cited by
- supports Research shows women are much less likely to suppress or deny emotions and much more likely to ruminate than men.