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Negative Affectivity and Suicide Risk: The Buffering Role of Gratitude and Optimism in Spanish Adolescents
Nicolás Sánchez-Álvarez1, Marta Brás2, Claudia Carmo2
1Department of Psychobiology and Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, University of Málaga, Malaga, Spain.
Abstract:
The role of optimism and gratitude in the link between negative affectivity and suicide risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation) was examined in a sample of 1401 Spanish adolescents. Overall, the results of a set of hierarchical regression analyses supported the prediction of optimism and gratitude as predictors of suicide risk. Moreover, we analyzed whether the negative affectivity optimism/gratitude interaction term explains the unique variance in depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. The results show that optimism and gratitude buffered the association between negative affectivity and depressive symptoms/ suicidal ideation, indicating that among adolescents experiencing negative affectivity, those who presented a high level of optimism and gratitude reported a lower risk of suicide. Finally, the practical implications of these novel findings regarding the role of optimism and gratitude in preventing suicide risk among adolescents are discussed.
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