The Association of Self-Differentiation and Rumination with Anxiety among Adolescent Girls

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Department of Psychology, Shi.C., Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran

10.30476/whb.2026.106895.1354

Abstract

Background: Anxiety in adolescent girls is influenced by pivotal psychological factors, including self-differentiation and rumination, amid their profound developmental and social challenges. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-differentiation, rumination, and the severity of anxiety in adolescent girls.
Methods: This correlational-descriptive study targeted high school girls in Shiraz, Iran throughout the 2023–2024 school year. A total number of 252 participants were recruited through multi-stage cluster sampling technique. For data collection, Anxiety Scale (SA), Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI), and Rumination Response Scale (RRS) were used. Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression were applied for data analysis. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 26.
Results: The mean value for anxiety, self-differentiation, and rumination was 55.36±12.30, 139.88±44.62, and 63.55±13.70, respectively. The results revealed a robust inverse association between self-differentiation and anxiety (r=-0.46, P<0.01), while rumination exhibited a strong positive link with anxiety (r=0.53, P<0.01).
Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that self-differentiation and rumination are significantly associated with anxiety in adolescent girls, with rumination showing a stronger correlation. These findings highlighted the importance of fostering selfdifferentiation and addressing ruminative tendencies in interventions to mitigate anxiety in adolescent girls.

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