the relationship between rumination and depression in a sample of iranian student

rumination has been recognized as an important component of depression. the goal of this study was to introduce rumination within the frame of response style theory and its consequences for dysphoric mood and depression disorder. therefore, the relationship between rumination, depression and anxity in a sample of iraian students was investigated. participants (n = 119; 63% female) were randomaly selected among students of ferdowsi university of mashhad, who completed ruminative response scale (rrs), beck depression inventory-ii (bdi-ii), and beck anxity inventory (bai). cronbach’s alpha coefficient (= .88) was calculated rrs as an index of internal consistency of the measure. the result of regression analysis indicated that after controlling for age, gender, and anxity, increases in rumination were associated with inceases in depression. despite of cultuaral and social differentces, our findings support earlier findings from the west about the relationship between rumination and depression. moreover, we found that the role of rumination in predicting depressive sumptoms is probably independent of anxiety. implication of interventions has been discussed. keywords rumination, depression, response style theory, ruminative response scale