Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC, USA.
Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Anxiety Stress Coping. 2020 Sep;33(5):511-529. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2020.1755820. Epub 2020 Apr 24.
Positive distraction involves distracting oneself from a stressor by thinking about or engaging in activities that induce positive emotion. We hypothesized that although it is a disengagement coping strategy, which have been historically viewed as maladaptive (e.g., avoidance), positive distraction can be an adaptive version that predicts positive outcomes. To test this hypothesis, we developed a scale to measure positive and neutral distraction (distracting oneself by engaging in daily activities) in response to chronic stressors in 3 samples (MTurk1, = 206; undergraduate, = 376; MTurk2, = 200). We then correlated the use of these strategies with outcomes in these samples and another undergraduate sample ( = 370). Exploratory SEM confirmed that the scale consists of two factors corresponding to positive and neutral distraction, which were positively correlated with avoidance. However, unlike avoidance, positive distraction (and to a lesser degree neutral distraction) was related to positive outcomes such as higher well-being and positive emotions, and fewer depressive symptoms especially when controlling for avoidance. Our results suggest that positive distraction can be an adaptive disengagement coping strategy for chronic stressors when controlling for avoidance and should be incorporated into coping studies and interventions.
积极分心是指通过思考或参与能引起积极情绪的活动，从而将自己从压力源中转移注意力。我们假设，尽管它是一种脱离应对策略，这种策略在历史上被视为适应不良的（例如，回避），但积极分心可以是一种适应性的版本，能预测积极的结果。为了验证这一假设，我们开发了一个量表来衡量在三个样本（MTurk1，n=206；本科生，n=376；MTurk2，n=200）中对慢性应激源的积极和中性分心（通过参与日常活动来分散自己的注意力）。然后，我们将这些策略的使用与这些样本和另一个本科生样本（n=370）的结果进行了相关分析。探索性 SEM 证实，该量表由与积极分心和中性分心相对应的两个因素组成，这两个因素与回避呈正相关。然而，与回避不同的是，积极分心（以及在较小程度上的中性分心）与更高的幸福感和积极情绪等积极结果相关，与抑郁症状较少相关，尤其是在控制回避的情况下。我们的研究结果表明，在控制回避的情况下，积极分心可以作为应对慢性应激源的一种适应性脱离应对策略，应该纳入应对研究和干预中。
