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Updated: Oct 25, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
What happens when teens' negative future thoughts involuntarily persist: Associations with suicidal ideation in daily
Nicola Hohensee1, Ki Eun Shin1, Olivia C Lawrence2
1Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University.
Abstract:
Once experienced by adolescents, suicidal ideation (SI) often recurs. Emerging work emphasizes the importance of considering a domain of psychological processes that are future life-oriented (FLO) to better understand SI and potentially uncover key modifiable intervention targets to reduce and stop suicidality. Going beyond what these FLO processes pertain to, recent research emphasizes how these FLO processes operate-hereafter referred to as formal FLO features. Although first studies established links between "maladaptive" formal FLO features (e.g., overall negative valence, repetitiveness, uncontrollability) and SI in adolescents, studies using ecologically valid intensive longitudinal assessments are still needed. Therefore, the present study aimed to test whether adolescents' FLO was associated with SI history as well as real-time experience of SI when those thoughts were (a) repetitive, (b) negatively valenced, and (c) uncontrollable. A sample of 121 adolescents (15-17 years, Mage = 15.88, SDage = 0.77, n = 56 with SI history) reported up to 5 times daily for 14 days on their most recent FLO thought and associated features (e.g., repetitiveness, valence, uncontrollability), as well as SI. Teens with versus without SI history did not differ significantly in formal FLO features. Within teens with SI history, negative valence was significantly associated with concurrent and subsequent SI recurrence. The main effect for concurrent SI was further specified by an interaction such that higher uncontrollability increased the strength of the association with SI. These findings underscore the potential value of focusing on specific formal features of FLO when addressing suicidality in adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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