Repetitive Negative Thinking in Anticipation of a Stressor
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Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press
Copyright © 2014 Peter McEvoy, Michelle Moulds & Alison Mahoney
NOTICE: This is the author’s version of an article which has been accepted for publication but may be subject to further editorial input by Cambridge University Press
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Abstract
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) has been confirmed as a transdiagnostic phenomenon, but most measures of RNT are contaminated with diagnosis-specific content. The first aim of this study was to examine the structure of an anticipatory version of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ-Ant) as a trans-emotional measure of anticipatory RNT. The original RTQ was completed with reference to a past stressor, whereas the RTQ-Ant instructs respondents to link their responses to a future stressor. The second aim was to test if the associations between a range of emotions (anxiety, depression, shame, anger, general distress) and the original post-stressor version of the RTQ would be replicated. Undergraduates (N = 175, 61% women) completed the RTQ-Ant, along with measures of various emotions, with reference to upcoming university exams. Principal axis factor analysis yielded many similarities between the original post-event RTQ and the RTQ-Ant, and some differences. The RTQ-Ant was comprised of two subscales: the RNT subscale measures engagement in repetitive thinking, negative thoughts about oneself, and ‘why’ questions; and the Isolated Contemplation (IC) subscale included items referring to isolating oneself and reflecting on negative thoughts, feelings, loneliness, and listening to sad music. RNT was more strongly related to negative emotions than IC. The RTQ-Ant appears to be a reliable measure of anticipatory RNT that is associated with a broad array of emotions.
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McEvoy, Peter; Moulds, M.; Mahoney, A. (2013)Background and objectives: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is common to multiple emotional disorders and occurs before, during, and following a stressor. One replicated difference between common forms of RNT such as ...
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McEvoy, Peter; Hyett, M.; Ehring, T.; Johnson, S.; Samtani, S.; Anderson, Rebecca; Moulds, M. (2018)Background: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process that is repetitive, passive, relatively uncontrollable, and focused on negative content, and is elevated in emotional disorders including depression ...
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Mahoney, A.; McEvoy, Peter; Moulds, M. (2012)Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is thought to contribute to the maintenance of many emotional disorders. Although several measures of RNT are available, the items of most of these instruments index RNT that is specific ...