(PS9-C62) Positive Emotion Dampening and Suicide Risk Among College Students

Introduction: Suicide is one of the top five mental health problems among college students worldwide and has been associated with emotion regulation difficulties. Growing evidence suggests that the ways an individual regulates their positive emotions may play a unique role in suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), yet most extant research has only examined emotion regulation and STBs in the context of negative emotions. Clarifying the relationship between dampening positive emotions and suicide risk among college students may inform assessment and treatment efforts.

Methods: This cross-sectional survey study was conducted with a sample of 184 undergraduate students at a large state university. Participants completed a clinical interview and a self-report measure of positive emotion dampening.

Results: Participants had a mean age of 18.74 years (SD = 1.28 years), 61.5% were biologically female, and 37% identified at White/European/Caucasian, and 44% identified as Hispanic/Latino. The results indicated that engaging in positive emotion dampening was significantly associated with current suicide risk (OR = 1.21, Z = 3.11, p = 0.002). This relationship remained significant when controlling for biological sex, race, ethnicity, anhedonia, and current or recurrent major depressive episode. Moreover, positive emotion dampening was significantly predictive of suicide risk severity (OR = 1.15, Z = 3.09, p = 0.002).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that positive emotion dampening plays a role in current suicide risk and severity among college students. The ways in which college-aged individuals experience positive emotions may have important implications for assessment and treatment of STBs.