Positive Emotional Disturbance in Psychopathology

Abstract

Positive mood scales are negatively associated with many symptoms and disorders, but display positive relations with other forms of psychopathology. The basic goal of this chapter is to explicate the nature of these complex associations. The data we present clearly established that the size and sign of these relations depended on the specific mood measure that was used. More specifically, our results indicated that there were two basic types of positive mood scales. The first type of scale was best exemplified by PANAS-X Joviality and IDAS-II Well-Being. High scorers on these scales report feeling happy, cheerful, lively, enthusiastic, and optimistic. These scales tap a very adaptive form of positive affect, as they tended to correlate negatively with psychopathology. They displayed substantial specificity in their relations, however, correlating most strongly with indicators of depression and anhedonia, and also with social aloofness and other negative symptoms of psychoticism. The second type of scale was exemplified by IDAS-II Euphoria and, to a lesser extent, PANAS-X Self-Assurance. High scorers on these scales report feeling elated, energetic, restless, grandiose, bold, and extremely confident. These scales clearly assess a more dysfunctional form of positive affect, as they tended to correlate positively with psychopathology. Again, however, they displayed considerable specificity in their relations, correlating most strongly with indicators of elevated positive mood within mania, various forms of externalizing, and positive symptoms of psychoticism. These findings demonstrate the importance of examining multiple types of positive mood in psychopathology research.