PARASUICIDE, DEPRESSION AND THE ANTICIPATION OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVEFUTURE EXPERIENCES

Background. Previous research has shown that parasuicides' view of the future is characterized by an absence of anticipation of positive exp eriences rather than the presence of anticipation of negative experien ces. The present study aimed to replicate this finding and examine whe ther it would also be found in parasuicides who were not depressed. Me thod. Depressed parasuicides (N = 27), non-depressed parasuicides (N = 17) and matched controls (N = 34) were assessed on their anticipation of future positive and negative experiences using an adapted fluency paradigm, where they were given a set time to generate future positive and negative anticipated experiences. Results, Consistent with previo us findings, parasuicides showed an overall reduced anticipation of po sitive experiences and no overall increased anticipation of negative e xperiences. However, the parasuicides did show evidence of increased n egative anticipation for the immediate future. The results for depress ed and non-depressed parasuicides were essentially the same. Conclusio n. Lack of positive anticipation in the absence of increased negative anticipation is a feature of parasuicide. Although this lack of positi ve anticipation can occur in depression, it appears to be an independe nt feature of parasuicide.