Rumination impacts depressive symptoms among orthopedic patients: analysis of the buffering role of dispositional mindfulness

Abstract

Due to their physical discomfort and functional constraints, orthopedic patients frequently experience elevated depressive symptoms, and previous studies indicate that rumination worsens these symptoms. Nonetheless, studies on the mechanisms that mitigate this deleterious impact of rumination on depressive symptoms in this population are sparse. In the present study, we investigated the moderating role of dispositional mindfulness in the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms among orthopedic patients. Three hundred and eighty-seven (387) orthopedic outpatients (males: n = 224, 57.9%; females: 163, 42.1%; mean age = 38.88 years, SD = 12.78) were drawn from a national orthopedic hospital in Nigeria using a cross-sectional approach and a convenient sampling technique. These participants completed the seven-item Rumination Scale, the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale. Results revealed that higher scores on intrusive rumination were associated with heightened depressive symptoms, whereas higher deliberate rumination was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with depressive symptoms but did not moderate the relationship between intrusive rumination and depressive symptoms. However, dispositional mindfulness, instead of acting as a buffer, amplified the beneficial impact of deliberate rumination in reducing depressive symptoms. Interventions may do well to target deliberate rumination by building dispositional mindfulness to lessen depressive symptoms among orthopedic patients.