Responses to Positive Affect Predict Mood Symptoms in Children Under Conditions of Stress: A Prospective Study

Rumination to negative affect has been linked to the onset and maintenance of mood disorders in adults as well as children.
Responses to positive affect have received far less attention thus far. A few recent studies in adults suggest that responses
to positive affect are involved in the development of both depressive and hypomanic symptoms, but thus far no study has investigated
their role in childhood mood problems. The purpose of the present study was to validate a child version of the Responses to
Positive Affect questionnaire and examine the extent to which responses to positive affect prospectively predict mood symptoms
over a 3-month interval. The Responses to Positive Affect questionnaire for Children was found to assess two types of responses
to positive affect: Positive Rumination and Dampening. Both subscales showed sufficient internal consistency and moderate
stability over a 3-month interval. Low levels of positive rumination and high levels of dampening were concurrently associated
with depressive symptoms, over and above responses to negative affect. Importantly, low levels of positive rumination also
predicted increases in depressive symptoms over a 3-month interval over and above baseline symptoms in children reporting
high levels of stress. Both positive rumination and dampening were positively related to concurrent hypomanic symptoms and
high levels of positive rumination predicted increases in hypomanic symptoms over a 3-month interval over and above baseline
symptoms in children reporting high levels of stress. The results underscore the added value of assessing responses to positive
affect in addition to responses to negative affect.