Maladaptive rumination moderates the effects of written emotional disclosure on ambulatory blood pressure levels in females

Written emotional disclosure (WED) has beneficial effects on health outcomes. However, its effectiveness is influenced by a number of variables. This exploratory study tested whether trait rumination, which comprises brooding, a maladaptive component, and reflection, an adaptive component, moderated the effects of WED on ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in female participants. Fifty-two participants were randomized to write about their most stressful/traumatic life experience(s) or non-emotive topics, for 20 minutes, on 3 consecutive days. Two weeks and 14 weeks later, ABP was recorded over a single day. Using hierarchical linear modelling, an effect of condition was found at 2 weeks but not at 14 weeks indicating that higher levels of ABP were observed following WED. There was also a significant condition by brooding interaction at two weeks such that higher ABP was observed in low brooders in the WED condition compared with low brooders in the control condition. However, within the WED condition, the lowest ABP was exhibited by participants high in brooding. The findings indicated that WED led to short-lived increases in ABP which disappeared in the medium term. Researchers ought to build upon this exploratory study and investigate further the potential moderating role of brooding within WED. Individual differences in brooding may account for (some of) the mixed and inconsistent findings in past WED research.