Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 26, No. 2, April 2002 ( C  2002), pp. 179–188 Distinct and Overlapping Features of Rumination and Worry: The Relationship of Cognitive Production to Negative Affective States David M. Fresco, 1 Ann N. Frankel, 1 Douglas S. Mennin, 1 Cynthia L. Turk, 1 and Richard G. Heimberg 1,2 Worry and rumination are cognitive processes, often represented as verbal or linguis- tic activities. Despite similarities in definition and description, worry has been most closely examined in relation to anxiety whereas rumination has traditionally been related to depression. This distinction remains in spite of high rates of comorbidity between anxiety and depression. This study sought to better understand the distinct and overlapping features of worry and rumination as well as their relationship to anx- iety and depression. Seven hundred eighty-four unselected college students completed self-report measures of worry, rumination, anxiety, and depression. Items from the respective worry and rumination scales were submitted to factor analysis, which re- vealed a four-factor solution comprised of 2 worry factors and 2 rumination factors. A Worry Engagement factor as well as a Dwelling on the Negative factor emerged as distilled measures of worry and rumination, respectively. Scores on these factors were highly correlated with each other and demonstrated equally strong relationships to both anxiety and depression. Findings from this study suggest that worry and rumination represent related but distinct cognitive processes that are similarly related to anxiety and depression. KEY WORDS: worry; rumination; anxiety; depression. Worry, as defined by Borkovec, Robinson, Pruzinsky, and Depree (1983) and rumination, as defined by Nolen-Hoeksema (1998), have emerged from distinct re- search traditions as constructs of importance to the understanding of anxiety and depression. Indeed, worry has mostly been studied in relation to anxiety, and rumi- nation has been studied in relation to depression. 1 Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University, Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2 Correspondence should be directed to Richard G. Heimberg, Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple Univer- sity, Department of Psychology, Weiss Hall, Temple University, 1701 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122-6085; e-mail: rheimber@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu. 179 0147-5916/02/0400-0179/0 C  2002 Plenum Publishing Corporation