State Anhedonia and Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents

Background: Recent work suggests that state anhedonia and its social aspect of loss of interest in people was an important predictor of suicidal ideation in adults. Aim: The current study investigated the relationship between state anhedonia, trait anhedonia, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in adolescents. Method: State anhedonia was assessed using the anhedonia subscale from the Child Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, while trait social anhedonia was assessed using the Adolescent Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale and the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale. Results: Results indicated that state anhedonia was associated with suicidal ideation but not associated with past suicide attempts after controlling for depressive symptoms. Academic stressful events moderated the relationship between state anhedonia and suicidal ideation. Symptom-level analyses revealed that loss of interest in friends was most highly predictive of suicidal ideation compared with the other anhedonia components. Limitations: The current investigation was limited by its reliance on student samples and data from a single time point. Conclusion: The current study indicated that state anhedonia and its social component may be more informative of near-term suicidal ideation than trait anhedonia in adolescents.