Effects of Positive and Negative Affect on Depression: Considering the Activation Dimension and Balance of Affect

摘要

According to the two-factor model of affect, affect consists of two dimensions, valence and activation, which allow us to consider different types of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), i.e., activated PA (e.g., enthusiastic, happy), deactivated PA (e.g., calm, satisfied), activated NA (e.g., nervous, angry), and deactivated NA (e.g., sluggish, sad). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between affect and depression or short-term life satisfaction (LS) taking into account the dimensions of activation and balance of PA and NA. The study included 496 students (240 men and 256 women) who completed seven questionnaires, two of which were used for another study. The Activated and Deactivated Affect Questionnaire (ADAQ) was utilized for assessing activated and deactivated PA and NA, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for measuring depression, and the Short-term Life Satisfaction Scale for gauging short-term life satisfaction. Two more questionnaires were used to test the concurrent validity of the ADAQ. Correlation analyses showed that depression and short-term LS exhibited negative and positive associations with affect balance (PA – NA), respectively, in both activated and deactivated dimensions. Additionally, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed a few significant interactive effects between PA and NA on depression and short-term life satisfaction. In regard to activated affect, activated PA was more negatively associated with depression when activated NA was higher in women, while activated PA was more positively associated with short-term life satisfaction when activated NA was lower in both men and women. In terms of deactivated affect, deactivated PA was more positively associated with short-term life satisfaction when deactivated NA was lower only for men. These findings are discussed in terms of the necessity to consider the activation dimension and the relationships between PA and NA in healthcare, along with some limitations of the study.