Paradoxical Effects of Worrisome Thoughts Suppression: the Influence of Depressive Mood

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 98 - 106
• Main Authors: Silva, Sónia, Janeiro, Luís, Brás, Marta, Carmo, Cláudia, Martins, Ana Teresa, Jiménez-Ros, Antónia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Depression (Mood disorder); Failure; Psychological research; Psychology; Social Sciences; Success; Thought control; Worry; Depressive symptoms, paradoxical effects; Thought suppression; Worrisome thoughts
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-016-9493-4

Thought suppression increases the persistence of unwanted idiosyncratic worrisome thoughts when individuals try to suppress them. The failure of suppression may contribute to the development and maintenance of emotional disorders. Depressive people seem particularly prone to engage in unsuccessful mental control strategies such as thought suppression. Worry has been reported to be elevated in depressed individuals and a dysphoric mood may also contribute to the failure of suppression. No studies examine, however, the suppression of worrisome thoughts in individuals with depressive symptoms. To investigate the suppression effects of worrisome thoughts, 46 participants were selected according to the cut-off score of a depressive symptomatology scale, and they were divided in two groups (subclinical and nonclinical group). All of the individuals took part in an experimental paradigm of thought suppression. The results of the mixed factorial analysis of variance revealed an increased frequency of worrisome thoughts during the suppression phase, depending on the depressive symptoms. These findings confirm that a depressive mood can reduce the success of suppression.