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Suicide and Self-Injury

Examining the Real-Time Moderating Effect of Trait Emotion Reactivity on the Relationship Between Negative Affect and Suicidal Thinking

(PS11-39) Examining the Real-time Moderating Effect of Trait Emotion Reactivity on the Relationship Between Negative Affect and Suicidal Thinking

Saturday, November 16, 2024

2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EST

Location: Franklin Hall, Level 4, Marriott Downtown

Author(s)

Ellen Wittler, B.A.

Ph.D. Student
Rutgers University
Hillsborough, New Jersey, United States

Co-Author(s)

Kate H. Bentley, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Matthew K. Nock, Ph.D.

Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology; Chair, Department of Psychology
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
EK

Evan Kleiman, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Rutgers
Piscataway, New Jersey, United States

Abstract Text: Emotion reactivity contextualizes one’s affective experience following exposure to an emotional stimulus. Past research on emotion reactivity and suicidal thinking is limited by its reliance on retrospective data. We built on this work by using ecological momentary assessment to examine the real-time process of how trait-level emotion reactivity moderates the real-time relationship between negative affect and suicidal thinking. We also explored whether effects differ between emotion reactivity facets (intensity, persistence, and sensitivity). Across two samples (n=43 college students who reported suicidal ideation and n=52 individuals with a history of suicide attempt recruited online), the relationship between momentary negative affect and suicidal thinking was stronger for those with greater (i.e., +1SD from the mean) trait emotion reactivity (Study 1: b=0.042, 95%CI=[0.001, 0.170], p < .001; Study 2: +1SD, b=0.22, 95%CI=[0.143, 0.302], p < .001) . Regarding individual facets of emotion reactivity, the interaction with intensity was significant in Study 1, whereas the interactions with persistence and sensitivity were significant in Study 2. Broadly, these findings support the real-world components of emotion reactivity’s effect on momentary mood states. Between-sample inconsistencies regarding which facets drove this relationship may speak to individual differences in emotional processing.