Author(s): Sánchez-Álvarez, Nicolás ; Brás, Marta ; Carmo, Cláudia ; Neves de Jesus, Saúl ; Extremera, Natalio
Date: 2025
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/26929
Origin: Sapientia - Universidade do Algarve
Subject(s): Adolescents; Depressive symptoms; Gratitude; Optimism; Suicidal ideation
The role of optimism and gratitude in the link between negative affectivity and suicide risk (viz., depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation) was examined in a sample of 1401 Spanish adolescents. Overall, the results of a set of hierarchical regression analyses supported the prediction of optimism and gratitude as predictors of suicide risk. Moreover, we analyzed whether the negative affectivity optimism/gratitude interaction term explains the unique variance in depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. The results show that optimism and gratitude buffered the association between negative affectivity and depressive symptoms/ suicidal ideation, indicating that among adolescents experiencing negative affectivity, those who presented a high level of optimism and gratitude reported a lower risk of suicide. Finally, the practical implications of these novel findings regarding the role of optimism and gratitude in preventing suicide risk among adolescents are discussed.
