An exploration of shame, social rank and rumination in relation to depression

This study explored the associations and interactions between social rank (submissive behaviour and social comparison), shame, rumination and depression. 125 undergraduate students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring the research variables. It was found that social rank and shame are highly related and that both shame and social rank are significantly correlated with rumination. A moderator analysis suggested an effect of gender on the relationship between external shame and rumination. A mediational path analysis suggested that rumination partially mediated a link between shame and depression, but shame retained a unique contribution to depression after controlling for rumination.