Department of Psychology, University of Denver, CO 80208, USA.
Behav Res Ther. 2010 Sep;48(9):921-9. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.025. Epub 2010 Jun 1.
The present studies examined whether a tendency to accept negative emotional experiences buffers individuals from experiencing elevated negative affect during negative emotional situations (Study 1) and from developing depressive symptoms in the face of life stress (Study 2). Both studies examined female samples. This research expands on existing acceptance research in four ways. First, it examined whether acceptance has beneficial correlates when it matters most: in emotionally taxing (versus more neutral) contexts. Second, in Study 2 a prospective design was used in which acceptance was measured before stress was encountered and before outcomes were measured. Third, depressive symptoms (rather than general functioning or trauma symptoms) were examined as a particularly relevant outcome in the context of stress. Fourth, to enhance generalizability, a community sample (versus undergraduates or a purely clinical sample) was recruited. Results indicated that acceptance was correlated with decreased negative affect during a negative emotion induction but not an affectively neutral condition (Study 1). In Study 2, acceptance interacted with life stress such that acceptance predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms after higher, but not lower, life stress. These results suggest that accepting negative experiences may protect individuals from experiencing negative affect and from developing depressive symptoms.
本研究旨在探讨个体对消极情绪体验的接受倾向是否能缓冲其在消极情绪情境中体验到更高水平的消极情绪（研究 1），以及在面对生活压力时是否能减少抑郁症状（研究 2）。这两项研究均以女性样本为研究对象。该研究从四个方面扩展了现有的接受研究。首先，研究在情绪负担较重（而非中性）的情境中，检验了接受倾向在最重要的时刻是否具有有益的相关性。其次，在研究 2 中，采用了前瞻性设计，在遭遇压力和测量结果之前测量了接受程度。第三，在压力背景下，将抑郁症状（而非一般功能或创伤症状）作为一个特别相关的结果进行了研究。第四，为了增强普遍性，招募了社区样本（而非本科生或纯粹的临床样本）。研究结果表明，在消极情绪诱导中，接受与消极情绪的减少相关，而在中性情绪条件下则没有这种相关性（研究 1）。在研究 2 中，接受与生活压力相互作用，即接受程度越高，生活压力越大，抑郁症状水平越低。这些结果表明，接受消极体验可能会保护个体免受消极情绪和抑郁症状的影响。
