Dwelling on boy trouble, party snubs could lead to depression, study says
NEW YORK - Girls who discuss their problems extensively with friends may be at increased risk of developing depression and anxiety symptoms, a new study suggests.
The study, which followed 813 children and teenagers for 6 months, found that girls who devoted much time to talking about their problems with friends were more likely to develop depression or anxiety compared with those who did not.
Researchers suspect that such “co-rumination” causes some girls to dwell on fleeting problems like boy trouble and party snubs, leading to persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness or worry.
On top of this, girls who spend time hashing out their problems may leave little room for positive activities that could make them feel better, according to Dr. Amanda J. Rose, an associate professor of psychological sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“Talking about problems in moderation definitely is healthy,” Rose told Reuters Health. But, she said, ”co-rumination seems to be too much of a good thing.”
The good part, Rose and her colleagues found, was that girls who tended to co-ruminate also tended to say they felt close to their friends. However, they were still more likely to show increasing depression and anxiety symptoms than other girls were.
In contrast, boys who discussed problems with their friends reported more positive friendships and had no increased risk of developing emotional difficulties...
This from MSNBC.
1 comment:
This study almost shows that girls can talk them selves into being depressed. I agree that too much communication on a stressor is "dwelling" on the problem, and will deffinately have a negitive affect on most people. I woud be interested in a comparison between too much communication, "co-rumination" and the lack of communication and its affect on anxiety. I would assume that the lack of communication would render greater amounts of stress.
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