Poor cognitive control has been associated with maladaptive thinking, like rumination and worry, that increase risk for internalizing psychopathology. However, little research has investigated how cognitive control is associated with commonalities between rumination and worry (i.e., repetitive negative thinking; RNT). The current study aimed to investigate how cognitive control predicts engagement in a common component of RNT over time via an indirect mechanism of dependent stress generation in a one-semester longitudinal study of emerging adult college students (N = 224). Executive functioning task performance and self-reported attentional control (not working memory capacity task performance) prospectively predicted RNT, mediated by dependent stress, but did not predict change in stress or RNT from baseline. These findings suggest that aspects of cognitive control relevant for successful goal pursuit may be involved with maintaining levels of stressful life events and subsequent RNT.

不良的认知控制与适应不良的思维有关，例如沉思和担心，会增加内化精神病理学的风险。然而，很少有研究调查认知控制如何与沉思和担忧之间的共性（即重复性消极思维；RNT）相关联。目前的研究旨在调查认知控制如何通过对新兴成年大学生（N = 224）的一个学期的纵向研究，通过依赖压力产生的间接机制，随着时间的推移预测参与 RNT 的一个共同组成部分。执行功能任务表现和自我报告的注意力控制（不是工作记忆容量任务表现）前瞻性地预测了 RNT，由依赖压力介导，但没有预测变化在压力或 RNT 从基线。这些发现表明，与成功的目标追求相关的认知控制方面可能与维持压力性生活事件和随后的 RNT 水平有关。