Respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderates the interpersonal consequences of brooding rumination

Warren Caldwell; Sasha MacNeil; Carsten Wrosch; Jennifer J McGrath; Thanh T Dang-Vu; Alexandre J S Morin; Jean-Philippe Gouin

doi:10.1177/02654075221122059

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderates the interpersonal consequences of brooding rumination

J Soc Pers Relat. 2023 Feb;40(2):624-653. doi: 10.1177/02654075221122059. Epub 2022 Aug 19.

Authors

Warren Caldwell¹, Sasha MacNeil¹, Carsten Wrosch¹, Jennifer J McGrath¹, Thanh T Dang-Vu², Alexandre J S Morin¹, Jean-Philippe Gouin¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
² Department of Health, Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract

Brooding rumination is an intrapersonal emotion regulation strategy associated with negative interpersonal consequences. Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a psychophysiological marker of self-regulatory capacity, may buffer the association between maladaptive emotion regulation and negative interpersonal behaviors. The current work examines the moderating effect of RSA on the association between brooding rumination and different negative interpersonal consequences. Across three convenience samples, individuals with lower RSA showed a stronger association between brooding rumination and more negative interpersonal behaviors as well as less perception of received instrumental social support (Study 1; n = 154), higher levels of interviewer-rated interpersonal stress (Study 2; n = 42) and a stronger indirect association between brooding rumination and depressive symptoms via daily interpersonal stress (Study 3; n = 222). These findings highlight the negative interpersonal consequences of brooding rumination, particularly among individuals with lower RSA.

Keywords: Brooding rumination; heart rate variability; interpersonal stress; negative interpersonal behaviors; respiratory sinus arrhythmia; social support.