Abstract
Background
There are numerous studies evidencing that rumination is associated with risk for depressive symptoms and that sex differences in both rumination and depression emerge in adolescence. Though there is a substantial amount of research examining sex differences in rumination, few studies have explored the possible contribution of measurement properties to these differences, particularly during the developmental transition from childhood to adolescence.
Methods
This study examined whether there are developmental and sex differences in the measurement of rumination, assessed longitudinally at ages 9, 12, and 15 using the Children’s Response Style Questionnaire (CRSQ; Abela et al., 2002).
Results
Estimated models of configural, metric, and scalar invariance demonstrated excellent fit longitudinally. Further, models demonstrated good fit for configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance across sex at each time point.
Conclusions
These findings suggest mean-level changes in self-reported rumination across time are not impacted by changes in measurement properties of the CRSQ items. Additionally, mean-level differences in self-reported rumination across sex appear to reflect true differences and are not influenced by differences in measurement properties of items on the CRSQ.
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Funding
This publication was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants R01 MH069942 (Dr. Klein) and R01 MH107495 (Dr. Olino).
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Stewart, L.C., Mennies, R.J., Klein, D.N. et al. Measurement Invariance of Rumination Across Sex and Development from Late Childhood Through Mid-Adolescence. Cogn Ther Res 46, 573–579 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10276-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10276-8