Prevention of excessive co-rumination in adolescent girls: Theoretical mini review with a critical integrative intervention perspective
Co-rumination, defined as repetitive and emotionally focused problem talk between peers, has been consistently associated with heightened risk for internalising symptoms during adolescence, particularly among girls. Despite growing evidence of its emotional and physiological costs, co-rumination remains common within close friendships, raising the question of why this interaction pattern persists. In this theoretical, integrative mini review, we described developmental, physiological, and interpersonal research to clarify mechanisms that sustain excessive co-rumination in adolescent girls. We argue that co-rumination becomes self-reinforcing through the interaction of heightened emotional distress, consciously experienced relational reassurance, and unresolved uncertainty. While early stress appraisal processes during co-rumination may operate largely outside awareness, the reassurance, validation, and relational closeness experienced during and after these interactions are accessible to awareness and shape learning and future expectations. Building on this framework, we outline the working mechanisms of the recently developed Happy Friends, Positive Minds intervention program that focus on interrupting the relief-without-resolution loop and the prevention of co-rumination and associated anxiety and depression symptoms, while preserving disclosure and relational closeness within friendships.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/2.1368 View / Download PdfIncome, Employment, and Insurance Gaps After the Onset of Mental Health Disability
This mini-review examines Millard1, which links Canadian longitudinal survey data to administrative tax records to estimate the economic consequences of disability onset, focusing here on mental health related disabilities. Following onset, earnings fall by roughly $5,800 per year in the short run (1 to 5 years) and $8,400 in the long run (6 to 10 years), with labour force participation declining about 10 percentage points. Government transfers show no statistically significant response and the earnings of other household members do not adjust, so the combined tax and transfer system offsets only about 25 to 33 percent of the income loss and disposable income remains depressed a decade later. As the main paper shows, mental health disability is insured less completely than the other disability types it considers, marking it as among the least insured shocks and pointing to meaningful gaps in coverage.
DOI: 10.29245/2578-2959/2026/2.1376 View / Download Pdf