Illumination | Fall 2007

Guaranteeing compliance may be difficult, Rose concedes. "I don't think we're getting every interaction, but I think we're getting a fair sample," she says. "What we would like to find is that same pattern of co-rumination being related to the adjustment trade-off between stronger friendships and more anxiety and depression. If you find converging evidence, you can feel confident you've found a real phenomenon."

So far, the results suggest that this new project will yield plenty of valuable information.

"Things are going as we hoped," Rose says. "Kids are engaging in really long, co-ruminative conversations. They're saying things you wouldn't expect them to say in front of adults. They know we're watching, but we're in another room and the door is closed."

Rose has noted "wild variation" in the topics and the amount of time the kids spent talking about their problems. In an earlier pilot study in preparation for this project, Rose found that girls tended to discuss their boyfriends, or lack of boyfriends, and other commitment issues at length. Boys discussed a wider array of problems dealing with academics and athletics, as well as interpersonal issues. Boys also tended to spend less time dwelling on things.

One boy, for example, told his friend that he was thinking about asking a certain girl out. His buddy cut him off quickly: "That's not a problem, moron," he said.

Gender differences in co-rumination styles only seem to grow with age, Rose's research has found. And that could have further implications for male-female relationships later in life, she says.

While co-rumination levels are higher among girls at all ages, the differences between the sexes grow larger by the time children reach 12 or 14. "Just at the time they become interested in each other their interpersonal styles diverge," she says. "It's no wonder a big conflict among married couples is how they support each other."

Women may want to talk and talk about their problems, while their spouses may want to talk and get it over with. "They are both trying to do their best," Rose says.

Rose is considering a follow-up study that would look at older teenagers as they begin romantic relationships to see whether their communication styles collide. In the distant future, Rose will be able to observe this whole process of gender differences in her own family.

Rose is married to Christopher Robert, an industrial-organizational psychologist with joint appointments in the University's psychology and business management departments. They have two young children of their own. Zack is less than a year old. Emma is three. Hardly old enough to be co-ruminating, Rose says. "But I'm watching."

Published by the Office of Research.