Using ambulatory assessment, the current study investigated the dynamic impact of stress on negative emotions in daily life and explored the mediating role of rumination in this relationship. A total of 100 college students were recruited and reported their perceived stress, current ruminative thinking and negative emotions (including anxiety, depression, and anger) 5 times a day for 7 consecutive days. Mixed model analyses indicated that the higher level of stress at the current time predicted increased negative emotions at the next time including depression, anger and anxiety. At within-person level, rumination significantly mediated the relationship of stress to depression, anger, and anxiety. At between-person level, overall rumination significantly mediated the relationship between stress and angry. Findings suggested that people who perceived higher level stress may report more rumination, which in turn may lead to increases in negative emotions.

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While the majority of studies have focused on dispositional mindfulness and the efficacy of mindfulness meditation, there has been limited study exploring the effect of state mindfulness on emotions and its potential mechanism. Therefore, we conducted an ambulatory assessment study to monitor state mindfulness and emotions in daily life and examine the mediating effect of rumination in a natural context. One hundred Chinese university students rated their state mindfulness, rumination, and emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, happiness) five times per day for a week. Using hierarchical linear models, we and found that at the within-person level, higher current state mindfulness was associated with more subsequent positive emotions and less subsequent negative emotions. Current rumination partially mediated the relation between current state mindfulness and subsequent positive emotions (happiness, relaxation, contentment, interest) and negative emotions (depression, anger, boredom, sadness). At the between-person level, higher state mindfulness was associated with more positive emotions and less negative emotions. Individuals' overall rumination partially mediated the relation between state mindfulness and emotions (depression, anger, boredom, sadness, relaxation). We concluded that higher state mindfulness was associated with lower rumination, which in turn resulted in more positive emotions and less negative emotions. More important, state mindfulness also exerted a dynamic impact on daily emotions via rumination.

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