The Role of Temperament, Rumination, Cognitive Flexibility and Trait Anxiety in Predicting Depressive Mood

Abstract

Depression is one of the most common disorders that different factors have etiological functions in occurrence and persistence of the disorder. Recognition of these factors plays a role in the prevention and treatment of the disorder. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of the dimensions of temperament, rumination, cognitive flexibility, and trait anxiety in predicting the depressiv mood. The research method was correlational and the statistical population included all students of Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University in 2018-2019. 322 students were selected by a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected by using the Beck Depression Inventory, Spielberger trait Anxiety Inventory, Rumination Response Scale, and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. Data were analyzed through the Pearson correlation and path analysis. The results showed that harm avoidance, self-direction, and perseverance had significant correlations with depression. Also, in predicting depression mood, rumination and cognitive flexibility had a mediating role, and temperament and trait anxiety play a predictive role. In other words, increasing rumination and decreasing cognitive flexibility as mediating variables increase the role of temperament and trait anxiety in predicting depressive mood. Therefore, considering the above variables is important in predicting and treating depression by using methods like psychotherapy.

Keywords

• cognitive flexibility
• depression
• rumination
• temperament
• trait anxiety