To determine the relationship of mood management skills, and affective and cognitive states to changes in moods following mood induction among people with osteoarthritis.
After completing questionnaires, participants underwent a negative mood induction. Momentary moods were assessed prior to, immediately following, and several minutes after the mood induction.
A specific mood management skill, mood clarity, consistently predicted changes in positive mood following the mood induction: people who scored high on mood clarity experienced less diminution in positive affect. In contrast, changes in negative affect were unrelated to mood management skills. However, people who scored higher on measures of depressive symptoms and pessimism rebounded from the negative induced mood less strongly than others.
Positive and negative emotional states operate largely independently and are differentially influenced by mood clarity, depressive symptoms, and pessimism. High levels of mood clarity may be adaptive in illnesses such as osteoarthritis because negative affective experiences that may be unavoidable need not preclude positive affective states.