FRIDAY, May 1, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Reward systems involving positive affect therapy (PAT) improve clinical outcomes compared to negative affect therapy (NAT) for adults with very low positive affect and moderate to severe depression or anxiety, according to a study published April 24, 2026. JAMA Open Network.
Alicia E. Meuret, Ph.D., of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and colleagues conducted a two-arm randomized clinical superiority trial in adults with very low positive affect and moderate to severe depression or anxiety who were functionally impaired. Participants underwent 15 weekly therapeutic sessions of PAT or NAT (51 and 47 patients, respectively).
The researchers found that in the analysis of three clinical status variables as a multidimensional outcome (self-reported positive affect, interview-rated anhedonia, and self-reported depression and anxiety), clinical status improved with PAT compared to NAT, and better (higher) clinical status scores were observed at PAT follow-up than NAT. PAT and NAT had comparable improvements in reward anticipation–motivation and reward acquisition goals. Six of the seven self-reported goal measures, reward and threat, improved clinical status, but behavioral and psychological measures did not.
“There is a difference between feeling helpless and hopeless,” Meuret said in a statement. “When you feel powerless, you still have the drive and desire to change. When people feel hopeless, they don’t believe things will change. That’s what anhedonia looks like, and removing negative emotions won’t fix it.”
