3-137 - Co-Rumination in Adolescence: Cross-Cultural Differences and Intra-and Interpersonal Correlates

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Although friendships provide an important source of social support and can protect youth against emotional problems, some characteristics of friendships are actually disadvantageous to wellbeing. Specifically, co-rumination (i.e., excessively discussing personal problems within a dyadic relationship) was consistently found to increase the risk for internalizing problems, while also promoting friendship quality and closeness among friends. However, most research exclusively studied co-rumination in established friendships and there is a lack of observation studies, cross-cultural research, and research on individual characteristics that predict co-rumination.

The current symposium presents four studies from labs in different countries, using data from Belgium, Korea, and the USA. Study 1 examines cultural differences (Korea vs US) in co-rumination and its associations with friendship and depression. Authors employed measurement invariance and regression analyses on cross-sectional self-report data. Study 2 examines temperament and attachment as predictors of co-rumination trajectories. Authors employed multi-level modeling on three annual data waves. The third and fourth study use the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to investigate associations between co-rumination and functioning in social relationships. Specifically, Study 3 focuses on the formation of new friendships in an experimental intimacy task, investigating the desire to continue talking and become friends. Study 4 examines emotional costs and benefits of talking about problems and positive events in an observational study, looking at social savoring and empathy.

By using different assessment methods, designs, and state-of-the-art analytic techniques, results will advance the field of co-rumination by providing new insights into cross-cultural differences and intra-and interpersonal correlates of co-rumination.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Margot Bastin, KU Leuven

Individual Presentations

• A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Co-Rumination in US and Korean Adolescents - Presenting Author: Sarah Borowski, University of Missouri; Amanda J. Rose, University of Missouri; Eun Oh, Kyung Hee University Hospital; Eun Jung Kim, Ajou University

• Problem Talk in Adolescence: Investigating Temperament and Attachment as Predictors of Co-Rumination Trajectories - Presenting Author: Margot Bastin, KU Leuven; Amy H. Mezulis, Seattle Pacific University; Jaclyn Tess Aldrich, Seattle Pacific University; Guy Bosmans, KU Leuven; Sabine Nelis, KU Leuven; Filip Raes, KU Leuven; Patricia Bijttebier, KU Leuven

• Co-Rumination and the Initial Stages of Friendship Formation: An Experimental Intimacy Task With Older Adolescents - Presenting Author: Rebecca A. Schwartz-Mette, University of Maine; Julia Felton, University of Maryland, College Park; Melissa Jankowski, University of Maine; Hannah Lawrence, University of Maine

• An Observational Investigation of Co-Rumination, Social Savoring, and Empathy in Adolescent Friendships - Presenting Author: Rhiannon L Smith, University of Connecticut