Can Positive Emotion Influence Problem-Solving Attitudes Among Suicidal Adults?

Middle East Technical UniversityM. David RuddBaylor UniversityA client's mood can hinder or enhance treatment and its effectiveness. Positive emotions can encourageexploration and experimentation, and they may have the long-term effect of resource building. The purposeof the present study was to assess this perspective as applied to the treatment of suicidal individuals. Theauthors found that patients prone to positive moods, as compared with those less prone to such moods,displayed more positive problem-solving attitudes following treatment for suicidal symptoms, and, partly asa function thereof, displayed enhanced treatment response. These findings suggest that clinicians may improvetheir chances of achieving successful treatment outcomes if they present skill-building treatments duringwindows of positive mood for the client, rather than in times of crisis.Suicidality represents an interesting yet challenging area forclinical practitioners. For at least two reasons, the interconnectionsbetween suicidality, problem-solving, and mood appear to beclinically important. First, suicidality has been linked to problem-solving deficits (Schotte & Clum, 1982), and skill-based treat-ments appear to be effective in reducing suicidal behavior (Rudd,Joiner, & Rajab, 2000; Rudd et al., 1996). Second, although thereis no question that people in suicidal crises experience predomi-nantly negative moods, suicidal crises are time limited, and muchof therapy is conducted once the crisis subsides, when patients'range of moods is broader. In the course of therapy with suicidalpatients, then, positive moods may well occur, and according to thelogic of the broaden-and-build model (Fredrickson, 1998), mayrepresent windows of opportunity for problem-solving skillacquisition.In her broaden-and-build model of positive emotions, Fredrick-son (1998) proposed that emotions such as joy, interest, andcontentment have the momentary effect of "broadening" cognitionand behavior, so that exploration, experimentation, and play aremore likely. Furthermore, because positive emotions subserveexploration and experimentation, they have the long-term effect ofresourc building. Through exploration and experimentation, newideas and actions are discovered, building up an individual'srepertoire of physical, intellectual, and social resources. Thebroaden-and-build model has accrued reasonable research support(Carnevale & Isen, 1986; Fredrickson, 1998; Isen, 1987; Isen,Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987; Kahn & Isen, 1993). Because of thisresearch support, and because of the model's emphasis on theinterconnections of mood and problem-solving skills, it deservesattention from clinicians interested in the interrelations of mood,THOMAS E. JOINER JR. received his PhD from the University of Texas atAustin in 1993. He is the Bright-Burton Professor of Psychology at FloridaState University. His research interests include neurobiological, interper-sonal, and social-cognitive factors in suicidality and in mood, eating, andanxiety disorders.JEREMY W. PETTIT received his MS in psychology from Florida StateUniversity in 2000. He is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psy-chology at the same institution. His major research interests are theetiology, phenomenology, and prevention of depression, suicide, and re-lated phenomena, with an emphasis on interpersonal and cognitive factors.MARISOL PEREZ received her MS in psychology from Florida State Uni-versity in 2001. She is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychologyat the same institution. Her research interests are eating disorders, suicide,and minority mental health.ANDREA B. BURNS received her BA in psychology from Willliams Collegein 1998. She is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at FloridaState University. Her research interests are in the interpersonal aspects ofdepression, gender, self-presentation, suicide, and eating disorders.TULIN GENCOZ received her PhD in 1996 from Hacettepe University,Ankara, Turkey. She is an assistant professor at Middle East TechnicalUniversity, Ankara, Turkey, and her current research interests includemoo d an anxiety disorders emotional intelligence.FARUK GENCOZ received his PhD in 1997 from Hacettepe University,Ankara, Turkey. He is an assistant professor at Middle East TechnicalUniversity, Ankara, Turkey, and his current research interests includeemotions in psychopathology, facial expression, stress, and smoking.M. DAVID RUDD received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austinin 1987. He is professor of psychology and director of clinical training atBaylor University. His research interests include suicidology and a range oftopics related to cognitive-behavior therapy.PORTIONS OF THIS WORK were supported by a grant from the NationalInstitute of Mental Health (MH48097) and by the Turkish Academy ofSciences.CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed toThomas E. Joiner Jr., Department of Psychology, Florida State University,Tallahassee, Florida 32306-1270. Electronic mail may be sent tojoiner@psy.fsu. edu.