Suicide-relevant information processing in unipolar and bipolar depression: An eye-tracking study.

In this study, we integrated eye-tracking dynamics of suicide-related attentional biases with self-report measures to test their model. A free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm, which simultaneously presented four images with different valences (suicide-related, negative, positive, neutral), was examined in 76 SAs with unipolar or bipolar depression, 66 nonsuicidal depressive participants (ND), and 105 healthy never-depressed healthy control participants (HC). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for the theory testing. SA gazed more at suicide-relevant stimuli throughout the 25-s trial compared with ND. SA and ND initially detected suicide-related stimuli faster than HC. Groups did not differ on how often they initially gazed at suicide images or how fast they disengaged away from them. Eye-tracking indices of attentional biases, together with self-reported hopelessness, adequately fit an SEM consistent with Wenzel and Beck’s cognitive theory of suicide-related information processing. Potentially, suicide-related attention biases could increase vulnerability to suicidal ideation and eventual suicidal behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Journal of Abnormal Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research