Diminishing Returns on ‘Venting’ Investments
A fun, formative and family-friendly factoid from a recent survey or study in the news.
Lots of kids today are told to verbally “vent” over their problems, frustrations and sources of anger. But a new study shows that, for girls, chronic complaining doesn’t help matters — it makes things worse. Published in the July edition of the journal Developmental Psychology, the study revealed that “excessive discussions and rumination about problems” increased girls’ incidence of anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, among boys, the researchers found no correlation between venting and psychological setbacks. Lead researcher Amanda Rose, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Missouri, said that, for girls, “talking about problems is a good thing, but too much talk is too much of a good thing.”
