ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1562927
This article is part of the Research TopicImplementing Mental Health Prevention and Promotion Programs: A Sustainable Approach - Volume IIView all 13 articles
The Effect of Cognitive Avoidance on Rumination in College Students: The Chain mediating role of Perfectionism and Stress Author：
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xinjiang University Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, Xinjiang, China
- 2Wenzhou University School of Education, Zhejiang, China
- 3Jishou University, Jishou, China
- 4Xinjiang Mental Health Center (Urumqi Fourth People's Hospital), XInjiang, China
- 5Rehabilitation Medicine Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China
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This study aimed to examine the effect of cognitive avoidance on rumination among college students, and to explore the mediating roles of perfectionism and stress. Cognitive avoidance involves efforts to evade distressing thoughts, while rumination refers to repetitive negative thinking. A cross-sectional survey was conducted via convenience sampling among students from four universities in Xinjiang, Henan, and Guangdong. A total of 6,000 electronic questionnaires were distributed, and 5,412 valid responses were retained (effective rate: 90.20%). Participants completed the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire, Rumination Scale, Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Pearson correlations and mediation analyses using PROCESS were performed. Results showed that cognitive avoidance, perfectionism, stress, and rumination were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.324-0.484, p < 0.001). Cognitive avoidance significantly predicted rumination (t = 0.347, p < 0.001). Further, three indirect paths were identified: the mediating effect of perfectionism, the mediating effect of stress, and a chain mediating effect through both (95% CIs excluded zero). These findings suggest that cognitive avoidance influences rumination directly and indirectly through perfectionism and stress, offering insights into maladaptive cognitive-emotional patterns in college students.
Keywords: Cognitive avoidance, perfectionism, stress, rumination, Chain Mediation 1 Introduction
Received: 18 Jan 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 An, Wang, Xia and Xing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Debao An, Xinjiang University Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, Xinjiang, China
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