Problem solving deteriorates following mood challenge in formerly depressed patients with a history of suicidal ideation.
The authors divided 34 participants who had a history of depression into 2 groups, those having previous suicidal ideation or behavior (n=19) and those having no such symptoms (n=15), then compared the 2 groups with a group of participants who had no history of depression (n=22). Assessment of interpersonal problem-solving performance using the Means-Ends Problem-Solving (MEPS) task before and after a mood-induction procedure showed that only those formerly depressed people with a history of suicidal ideation shifted in MEPS performance, producing significantly less effective problem solutions following mood challenge, consistent with a differential activation account of vulnerability for recurrence of suicidal ideation and behavior. The deterioration in effectiveness following mood challenge was moderated by lack of specificity in autobiographical memory.
Williams
J Mark G
JM
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. mark.williams@psych.ox.ac.uk
Barnhofer
Thorsten
T
Crane
Catherine
C
Beck
A T
AT
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001288:Attention; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005793:Generalization, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011340:Problem Solving; D012008:Recurrence; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*