Implicit interpersonal evaluations as a risk factor for suicidality: Automatic spousal attitudes predict changes in...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Thwarted social connection is a significant risk factor for suicidality.
• Marriage serves as a vital source of social connection for many individuals.
• Interpersonal affect is theoretically linked to social connection and mental health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive role of automatic spousal attitudes in the development of suicidal thoughts.
• To examine whether implicit, spontaneously activated feelings towards a spouse influence suicidality over time.
• To compare the predictive power of automatic spousal attitudes against self-reported attitudes and marital satisfaction.

Main Methods:

• Conducted three longitudinal studies with married couples (N = 204, 159, 229).
• Assessed automatic spousal attitudes using implicit measures (e.g., reaction time in word categorization tasks) shortly after marriage and after an evaluative conditioning procedure.
• Tracked self-reported suicidal thoughts at 1-year and 2-month follow-ups.

Main Results:

• More positive automatic spousal attitudes were consistently associated with a lower probability of suicidal thoughts.
• An increase of 1 standard deviation in automatic spousal attitudes correlated with approximately a 50% decrease in the probability of suicidal thoughts.
• Implicitly measured spousal attitudes uniquely predicted suicidal thoughts, outperforming self-reported attitudes toward oneself and marital satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Automatic, implicit attitudes towards one's spouse are important predictors of suicidal thoughts.
• These findings underscore the significance of automatic interpersonal processes in psychological well-being and suicidality.
• The results suggest potential for novel interventions targeting subconscious marital affect to reduce suicide risk.