Inflexible Interpretations of Ambiguous Social Situations: A Novel Predictor of Suicidal Ideation and the Beliefs That Inspire It

Abstract

Suicidal ideation has been linked to a bias toward interpreting ambiguous information in consistently less positive or more negative manners ( positive/negative interpretation bias), implying that information-processing biases might distort beliefs thought to inspire suicidal ideation (e.g., those regarding burdensomeness). Therefore, in the present study, we examined whether suicidal ideation and beliefs highlighted in theories of suicide are related to positive/negative interpretation bias and/or a bias against revising negative interpretations in response to evidence against them ( negative interpretation inflexibility). Data were collected in three waves, each 1 week apart. Network analyses and structural equation models provided evidence that negative interpretation bias (cross-sectionally) and negative interpretation inflexibility (cross-sectionally and over time) were related to suicidal ideation and that the latter relationship was mediated by perceived burdensomeness. By identifying this mediation pathway in the present study, we provide a potential mechanism by which perceptions of burdensomeness, a key risk factor for suicidality, might arise and/or persist.

Which features of repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal predict depression? An in-depth investigation using artificial neural networks with feature selection.

“…When combined with the feature looking for positive sides, positive reappraisal features were more important than features of repetitive negative thinking to predict concurrent and prospective suicidal ideation. This observation is consistent with recent longitudinal research indicating that interpretation processes predict increases in suicidal ideation (Everaert et al, 2021). This finding warrants further research exploring the etiological significance of the pathways from reappraisal or reinterpretation to suicidal ideation.…”

Developing a novel assessment of interpretation flexibility: Reliability, validity and clinical implications

“…The IIT also eliminates the confound of varying reading comprehension levels across different developmental stages, making it preferable for developmental studies examining whether inflexible or biased interpretations precede and predict psychopathologies. For example, the IIT could be used to investigate the temporal priority of inflexibility over suicide ideation, which was linked to interpretation inflexibility in a recent, longitudinal study of adults (Everaert et al, 2021). The IIT is also preferable for research using electroencephalographic or functional magnetic resonance imaging to uncover biobehavioral markers of interpretation bias and inflexibility, as picture-based stimuli may afford more precise stimulus timing.…”

“…Emotional BADE task metrics were calculated based on the scoring method employed in prior work (Everaert et al, 2021). Negative and positive interpretation flexibility indices were calculated respectively to represent the ability to revise negative and positive existing beliefs in light of disconfirming evidence.…”

“…The emotional BADE task builds on the original (non-emotional) BADE paradigm (Woodward et al, 2008) by providing new insights into how interpretations dynamically change as ambiguous self-referential situations gain clarity and shift in emotional valence over time. This task has consistently captured inflexibility and bias in interpretation processes across several studies (Everaert et al, 2018;Everaert, Bronstein, Cannon, Klonsky, & Joormann, 2021;Everaert, Bronstein, Castro, Cannon, & Joormann, 2020).…”

Differential associations of positive and negative expectations with depressive symptoms

“…Starting with Beck's influential cognitive model of depression (Beck et al, 1979), numerous studies have provided evidence for the presence of dysfunctional cognitions in people with depressive symptoms (Czyz et al, 2016; Everaert et al, 2021; Perez & Rohan, 2021). Besides other types of cognitions, a cumulative body of research has suggested that depression is particularly characterized by dysfunctional expectations (Kube et al, 2020).…”