Many people find themselves caught in loops of worry or regret, wondering why these negative thoughts persist and what might be driving them.
A new study suggests that the answer may lie in a person’s capacity for self-control, shedding light on how certain thinking patterns could be more consequence than cause.
A study by Janet M. Lopez and colleagues, published in Clinical Psychological Science (2025), explores how self-control, executive functioning, and repetitive negative thoughts—like worry and rumination—relate to symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Drawing on data from 223 studies involving over 50,000 participants, the meta-analysis provides one of the most comprehensive examinations of these factors to date.
The researchers found that lower self-control predicts increases in depression and anxiety symptoms, which in turn are associated with higher levels of repetitive negative thinking. These findings suggest that difficulties in emotional regulation may precede and shape the very thought patterns often blamed for maintaining psychological distress.
Perseverative negative thinking—such as ruminating over the past or worrying about the future—is common in both depression and generalized anxiety disorder.
While these thoughts may serve a useful purpose in moderation, such as problem-solving or preparing for challenges, they often become counterproductive when persistent and hard to control.
Clinicians and researchers have long debated whether these thought patterns drive emotional disorders or result from them.
To investigate these dynamics, the researchers analyzed both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Participants included individuals from diverse backgrounds, with studies conducted primarily in North America and Europe.
Some participants had clinical diagnoses of depression or anxiety, while others were from the general population. The study included a variety of self-report questionnaires and cognitive tasks assessing self-control and executive function.
Across analyses, the clearest pattern emerged for self-control, which refers to a general ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in pursuit of goals.
Individuals with lower self-control were more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety over time, and these emotional symptoms were then linked to increased worry and rumination.
Notably, the reverse pathway—where negative thinking leads to emotional symptoms—was weaker, suggesting that emotional distress may amplify rather than initiate negative thought loops.
While executive functioning—a set of cognitive skills related to attention, inhibition, and working memory—was also examined, its associations with depression, anxiety, and negative thinking were consistently smaller.
This distinction implies that self-control and executive functioning, though often discussed together, may reflect different psychological processes with distinct roles in mental health.
For the general public, these findings carry important implications.
Rather than focusing solely on trying to “think positively” or stop negative thoughts directly, it may be more effective to strengthen underlying self-regulatory capacities.
Training in emotional regulation, establishing healthy routines, and fostering goal-directed behavior may help individuals reduce their vulnerability to depressive and anxious symptoms and the repetitive thoughts that often follow.
The research also challenges assumptions in both clinical and everyday contexts. Repetitive negative thoughts are often framed as the primary problem in conditions like depression and anxiety.
But if such thoughts are more often a byproduct of emotional distress than a root cause, interventions may be more successful when they target the emotional and self-regulatory systems that give rise to them.
Despite its scale and rigor, the study has some limitations.
Most data were correlational, which limits strong causal conclusions.
While longitudinal analyses improved the ability to infer directionality, more experimental and intervention studies are needed to test whether improving self-control can reliably reduce symptoms over time.
Furthermore, the majority of participants were young adults from Western countries, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Still, the study offers a nuanced view of how mood, cognition, and behavior interact.
Rather than seeing negative thoughts as purely cognitive errors to be corrected, the findings support a broader approach—one that addresses the emotional and behavioral contexts in which these thoughts emerge.
As researchers continue to explore how self-control can be strengthened, the hope is that such work can inform more effective strategies for preventing and treating common mental health conditions.
Citation
Lopez, J. M., Lohmann, S., Mekawi, Y., Hughes, C., Sunderrajan, A., Tengshe, C., Rajesh, A., & Albarracín, D. (2023). Perseverative Negative Thinking, Self-Control, and Executive Functioning in Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis of Competing Models. Clinical Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177_21677026251344172
