Objective: The current quantitative review aims at comprehensively clarifying the role of rumination in borderline personality disorder (BPD) considering its relevance for several clinical models of the disorder.
Method: This meta-analysis included 29 independent studies assessing different forms of rumination-general tendency to engage in ruminative thinking patterns and four types of emotion-based rumination among both nonclinical subjects reporting BPD features and patients with BPD. Furthermore, the study tested whether rumination could be considered a widespread emotion-based cognitive vulnerability in BPD.
Results: Meta-analytic procedures were based on 46 r coefficients that showed large pooled effect sizes for all forms of rumination. With the exception of interpersonal rumination, the remaining forms of rumination were equally involved in BPD features.
Conclusions: Rumination should be considered a widespread emotion-based cognitive vulnerability in BPD. Future studies should provide longitudinal and contextual-based evaluations of rumination among treatment-seeking individuals with BPD.
Keywords: attentional dysfunctions; borderline personality disorder; difficulties with emotion regulation; emotion-based cognitive vulnerability; rumination.
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