Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS)

Background

The Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) is a widely used self-report measurement tool of 'rumination', the tendency to think repetitively and passively about negative emotions and symptoms of distress. Rumination can be viewed as a self-focused coping mechanism to deal with negative moods and has been linked to higher levels of depressive symptoms.

The original 22-item Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) was first introduced by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow in 1991 as part of their larger Response Styles Questionnaire (RSQ). The 22 items cover three categories: Depression, Brooding, and Reflection. A shorter 10-item version was created by removing the twelve Depression questions to remove the risk of item overlapping between depression symptoms and items of the ruminative response. Both versions are widely used.

Task Procedure

Participants work on 22 (10) questions covering 3 (2) categories: Depression (e.g. "Do you think about how alone you feel?"), Brooding (e.g. Do you wonder "What am I doing to deserve this?"), and Reflection (e.g. "Do you go away by yourself and think about why you feel a certain way"). For each question, participants rate their typical response pattern when they feel sad and depressed, selecting from four response anchors ranging from 1 (almost never) - 4 (almost always). The total score is calculated based on the sum of the individual answers. The higher the score, the higher the rumination response style.

What it Measures

The Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS) measures a person's tendency to dwell on negative emotions and distress

Psychological domains

• Depression: Persistent sadness, loss of interest, and decreased energy, negatively affecting how a person feels, thinks, and acts
• Rumination: Tendency to dwell on negative emotions and distress

Main Performance Metrics

• RRS Score: Sum of individual responses, ranges from 22-88 (or 10-40 for the short version). Higher scores indicate a higher rumination response style.

Psychiatric Conditions

RRS scores tends to be higher in patients with the following psychiatric conditions:

• Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
• Bipolar Disorder (BD)
• Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Test Variations

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS).

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Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1991). A Prospective Study of Depression and Distress Following a Natural Disaster: The 1989 Lorma Prieta Earthquake. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 105-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.1.115

Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R. & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. Rumination Reconsidered: A Psychometric Analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research 27, 247–259 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023910315561

Roelofs, J., Muris, P., Huibers, M., Peeters, F., & Arntz, A. (2006). On the measurement of rumination: A psychometric evaluation of the ruminative response scale and the rumination on sadness scale in undergraduates. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 37(4), 299–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2006.03.002

Caselli, G., Ferretti, C., Leoni, M., Rebecchi, D., Rovetto, F., & Spada, M. M. (2010). Rumination as a predictor of drinking behaviour in alcohol abusers: a prospective study. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 105(6), 1041–1048. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.02912.x

Erdur-Baker, Ö., & Bugay, A. (2010). The short version of ruminative response scale: reliability, validity and its relation to psychological symptoms. Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 2178–2181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.433

Johnson, D. P., & Whisman, M. A. (2013). Gender differences in rumination: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(4), 367–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.03.019

Rogers, M. L., & Joiner, T. E. (2017). Rumination, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicide Attempts: A Meta-Analytic Review. Review of General Psychology, 21(2), 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000101

Watkins, E. R., & Roberts, H. (2020). Reflecting on rumination: Consequences, causes, mechanisms and treatment of rumination. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 127, 103573–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103573