# Does Prospective Mental Imagery Predict Symptoms of Negative Affect and Anhedonia in Young People?

## TL;DR

This study explores if imagining negative or positive future events predicts symptoms of depression and anhedonia in adolescents.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel investigation into the predictive role of prospective mental imagery in adolescent mental health.

## Key findings

- Vividness of negative future imagery did not predict increased negative affect later.
- Reduced vividness of positive future imagery did not predict increased negative affect or anhedonia.
- High attrition rates suggest the need for larger, more diverse studies to confirm these findings.

## Abstract

Adolescent depression is associated with unhelpful emotional mental imagery. Here, we investigated whether vividness of negative and positive prospective mental imagery predict negative affect and anhedonia in adolescents. 111 people from Israel completed measures of prospective mental imagery, negative affect, and anhedonia at two time-points approximately three months apart. Using three cross-lagged panel models, we showed once ‘concurrent’ (across-variable, within-time) and ‘stability’ paths (across-time, within-variable) were estimated, there were no significant cross-lag paths between: i) T1 prospective negative mental imagery and T8 negative affect (i.e. increased vividness of negative future imagery at Time 1 did not predict increased negative affect at Time 8); ii) T1 prospective positive mental imagery and T8 negative affect (i.e. reduced vividness of positive future imagery at Time 1 did not predict increased negative affect at Time 8); and iii) T1 prospective positive mental imagery and T8 anhedonia (i.e. reduced vividness of positive future imagery at Time 1 did not predict increased anhedonia at Time 8). Given high levels of attrition, future research should aim to explore these associations in a larger, more diverse population, as such data could inform on whether modifying earlier prospective mental imagery may influence later time/context-specific effects of prospective mental imagery on negative affect and anhedonia.