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Cognitive Reactivity, Suicidal Ideation and Future Fluency: Preliminary Investigation of a Differential Activation Theory of Hopelessness/Suicidality

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Abstract

The authors investigated whether the re-emergence of hopeless/suicidal cognitions over time can be explained within a differential activation framework. Studies 1 (N = 146) and 2 (N = 136) showed that individuals who reported suicidal ideation when depressed in the past had higher scores on the hopelessness/suicidality subscale of a measure assessing cognitive reactivity to low mood, the LEIDS. Study 3 (N = 32) demonstrated that self-reports on this subscale predicted changes in generativity for positive future events, an experimental measure of processes underlying hopelessness/suicidality, following sad mood induction. The results provide preliminary evidence that history of suicidal ideation is related to a specific cognitive response pattern, which may be reactivated by mild fluctuations in mood.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Danielle Duggan, Melanie Fennell, Silvia Garnsey and Wendy Swift for help with this research. This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust GR067797

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, UK

    J. M. G. Williams, T. Barnhofer & C. Crane

  2. Department of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

    A. J. W. Van der Does

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Z. S. Segal

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  1. J. M. G. Williams
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  2. A. J. W. Van der Does
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  3. T. Barnhofer
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  5. Z. S. Segal
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Correspondence to J. M. G. Williams.

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Williams, J.M.G., Van der Does, A.J.W., Barnhofer, T. et al. Cognitive Reactivity, Suicidal Ideation and Future Fluency: Preliminary Investigation of a Differential Activation Theory of Hopelessness/Suicidality. Cogn Ther Res 32, 83–104 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9105-y

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