Ms Chew Li Huei, a part-time psychology lecturer and a psychologist in private practice, said: 'Talking about the same problems over and over again can increase a sense of despondency and negative emotions.

'It's important to differentiate between co-rumination and sharing with the aim of looking for solutions.'

While co-rumination can be detrimental to a teenager's emotional health, psychologists here said that teenagers can avoid that outcome by working towards finding a solution or a broader perspective when they talk to one another about problems.

But recently female friendship and girl talk, particularly among adolescents, has drawn growing interest from psychologists and researchers examining the question of how much talking is too much talking. Some studies have found that excessive talking about problems can contribute to emotional difficulties, including anxiety and depression.

The term researchers use is ''co-rumination'' to describe frequently or obsessively discussing the same problem. The behavior is typical among teens — Why didn't he call? Should I break up with him? And, psychologists say, it has intensified significantly with e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging and Facebook. And in certain cases it can spin into a potentially contagious and unhealthy emotional angst, experts say.

This research addresses a new construct, co-rumination. Co-rumination refers to extensively discussing and revisiting problems, speculating about problems, and focusing on negative feelings. Friendship research indicates that self-disclosure leads to close relationships; however, coping research indicates that dwelling on negative topics leads to emotional difficulties.