Negative Spontaneous Thoughts as a Mediator Between Rumination, Time Attitudes, and Depression in the Elderly: A Structural Equation Model
Downloads
Objective: Objectives: Population aging is a natural occurrence in today's society due to advancements in socio-economic development and is now considered a major challenge globally in the 21st century. This study aims to examine how retrospective thinking (positive/negative past, past acceptance) and rumination contribute to depression in elderlies, with negative spontaneous thoughts playing a mediating role.
Methods and Materials: This study utilized a descriptive-correlational research design and cross-sectional research approach, employing structural modeling. The research focused on elderly individuals in Tehran from July to October 2023 who resided in elderly care centers. A total of 114 elderly participants, including both men and women, were selected through convenience methods. Descriptive statistics were conducted using SPSS version 27, while data analysis and standard coefficients were computed using JASP version 0.18.1 software. The significance level set for the study was 0.05.
Findings: The findings revealed a positive and significant relationship between Rumination and Depression variables when considering the mediating role of negative spontaneous thoughts (β=0.026, p<0.001). Similarly, a positive and significant relationship was observed between Negative past and Depression when considering negative spontaneous thoughts as a mediator (β=0.030, p=0.026). The connection between Positive past and Past acceptance was not significant, with a p-value greater than 0.05. All the model fit indices were confirmed. The SRMR index value was 0.069 and the NFI was 0.796. Similarly, the Q2 values were above zero.
Conclusion: The primary finding from the study suggests that addressing rumination and negative spontaneous thoughts, promoting past acceptance, and fostering positive thoughts can help alleviate depression in the elderly population. This highlights the importance of addressing mental health in the elderly population to improve their overall well-being.
Downloads
Ayhan, M. O., & Kavak Budak, F. (2021). The correlation between mindfulness and negative automatic thoughts in depression patients. Perspect Psychiatr Care, 57(4), 1944-1949. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12770
Beak, A. T., Steer, R. A., Brown, G. K., & Beck, A. T. (1996). Depression Inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 4, 56-71. https://doi.org/10.1037/t00742-000
Cano-López, J. B., García-Sancho, E., Fernández-Castilla, B., & Salguero, J. M. (2022). Empirical evidence of the metacognitive model of rumination and depression in clinical and nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cogn Ther Res, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10260-2
Carpenter, R. K., Horton, J. C., & Alloway, T. P. (2022). Time perspective, working memory, and depression in non-clinical samples: Is there a link? J Psychol, 156(6), 414-434. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2022.2078948
Cetinkol, G., Bastug, G., & Kizil, E. T. (2020). Poor acceptance of the past is related to depressive symptoms in older adults. Geropsych. https://doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000227
Chahar Mahali, S., Beshai, S., Feeney, J. R., & Mishra, S. (2020). Associations of negative cognitions, emotional regulation, and depression symptoms across four continents: International support for the cognitive model of depression. BMC psychiatry, 20, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2423-x
Cohen, J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203771587
Etherson, M. E., Smith, M. M., Hill, A. P., Sherry, S. B., Curran, T., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2024). Perfectionism, feelings of not mattering, and suicide ideation: An integrated test of the perfectionism social disconnection model and the existential model of perfectionism. J Psychoeduc Assess, 42(6), 725-742. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829241237421
Hallford, D., Woolfit, M., Follett, A., Jones, E., Harrison, O., & Austin, D. (2024). Guided recall of positive autobiographical memories increases anticipated pleasure and psychological resources, and reduces depressive symptoms: a replication and extension of a randomised controlled trial of brief positive cognitive-reminiscence therapy. Memory, 32(4), 465-475. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2024.2333510
Hamidi, R., Fekrizadeh, Z., Azadbakht, M., Garmaroudi, G., Taheri Tanjani, P., Fathizadeh, S., & Ghisvandi, E. (2015). Validity and reliability Beck Depression Inventory-II among the Iranian elderly population. J Sabzevar Univ Med Sci, 22(1), 189-198. https://jsums.medsab.ac.ir/article_550_en.html?lang=en
Hasani, S. H. (2024). The Effectiveness of Cognitive Therapy Based on Mindfulness on Rumination and Negative Spontaneous Thoughts in the Elderly with Depressive Disorder. http://joge.ir/browse.php?a_id=653&sid=1&slc_lang=fa
Hollon, S. D., & Kendall, P. C. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an automatic thoughts questionnaire. Cogn Ther Res, 4, 383-395. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/Bf01178214
Ji, L. (2024). Childhood emotional abuse and depression among Chinese adolescent sample: A mediating and moderating dual role model of rumination and resilience. Child Abuse Negl, 149, 106607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106607
Khezria Azar, H., Moghimi Firozabad, M., Sani, M., & GholamAli Lavasani, M. (2018). Construction and validation of the Iranian adolescents attitude time scale (IAATS). QEM, 9(34), 149-171. https://doi.org/10.22054/jem.2019.33976.1790
Langenecker, S. A., Schreiner, M. W., Bessette, K. L., Roberts, H., Thomas, L., Dillahunt, A., Pocius, S. L., Feldman, D. A., Jago, D., Farstead, B., & Pazdera, M. (2024). Rumination-focused cognitive behavioral therapy reduces rumination and targeted cross-network connectivity in youth with a history of depression: replication in a preregistered randomized clinical trial. Biol Psychiatry Glob Open Sci, 4(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2023.08.012
Li, G. X., Liu, L., Wang, M. Q., Li, Y., & Wu, H. (2024). The longitudinal mediating effect of rumination on the relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic smartphone use in Chinese university students: A three-wave cross-lagged panel analysis. Addict Behav, 150, 107907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107907
Lu, Z., Yu, D., Wang, L., & Fu, P. (2024). Association between depression status and hearing loss among older adults: the role of outdoor activity engagement. J Affect Disord, 345, 404-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.050
MahmoudiTabar, M., Alimohammadi, A., Borujen, K., Pirzadeh, F., AhmadiPour, F., Jafari, M., & Salehi, F. (2022). The spiritual effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress therapy on spontaneous negative thoughts and irritability in people with social anxiety. Islamic Life J. http://islamiclifej.com/article-1-1276-en.html
Park, J. H., & Kang, S. W. (2024). Nutritional Risk, Depression, and Physical Function in Older People Living Alone. InHealthcare, 12(2), 164. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12020164
Pirbaglou, M., Cribbie, R., Irvine, J., Radhu, N., Vora, K., & Ritvo, P. (2013). Perfectionism, anxiety, and depressive distress: Evidence for the mediating role of negative automatic thoughts and anxiety sensitivity. J Am Coll Health, 61(8), 477-483. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2013.833932
Ren, Z., Wang, S., He, M., Shi, H., Zhao, H., Cui, L., Zhao, J., Li, W., Wei, Y., Zhang, W., & Chen, Z. (2024). The effects of living arrangements and leisure activities on depressive symptoms of Chinese older adults: Evidence from panel data analysis. J Affect Disord, 349, 226-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.077
Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Hall, P. A., & Lee-Baggley, D. L. (2020). The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Testing a moderated mediation model in community adults using a one-month two-wave longitudinal design. Pers Individ Dif, 157, 109826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109826
Sudhan, H. M., & Kumar, S. S. (2021, 2021 Nov 13). Automatic Negative Thoughts using Multimodal Approach with Deep Neural Network. 2021 IEEE 3rd PhD Colloquium on Ethically Driven Innovation and Technology for Society (PhD EDITS),
Szyszkowska, J., & Bala, A. (2023). The impact of depressive symptomology, rumination and objective memory performance on subjective cognitive complaints. Int J Psychophysiol, 190, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.05.351
Tanaka, K. (2020). Depression‐linked beliefs in older adults with depression. J Clin Nurs, 29(1-2), 228-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15081
Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cogn Ther Res, 27, 247-259. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1023910315561
Wang, J., Song, B., Feng, X., Shen, H., & Liu, R. (2022). Presleep focusing on positive spontaneous thoughts enhanced the possibility of dreaming of them. Front Psychol, 13, 1042857. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1042857
Wang, Y., Hu, X., Han, J., Scalabrini, A., Hu, Y., Hu, Z., Tan, Z., Zhang, J., & Northoff, G. (2021). Time is of essence-abnormal time perspectives mediate the impact of childhood trauma on depression severity. J Psychiatr Res, 137, 534-541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.10.039
Warden, E. A., Plimpton, B., & Kvavilashvili, L. (2019). Absence of age effects on spontaneous past and future thinking in daily life. Psychol Res, 83, 727-746. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-018-1103-7
Yapan, S., Türkçapar, M. H., & Boysan, M. (2022). Rumination, automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes, and thought suppression as transdiagnostic factors in depression and anxiety. Curr Psychol, 41(9), 5896-5912. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01086-4
Zhang, R., Kranz, G. S., Zou, W., Deng, Y., Huang, X., Lin, K., & Lee, T. M. (2020). Rumination network dysfunction in major depression: A brain connectome study. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry, 98, 109819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2019.109819
Zhou, H. X., Chen, X., Shen, Y. Q., Li, L., Chen, N. X., Zhu, Z. C., Castellanos, F. X., & Yan, C. G. (2020). Rumination and the default mode network: Meta-analysis of brain imaging studies and implications for depression. NeuroImage, 206, 116287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116287
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.