樂觀幫助青少年預防抑鬱症和健康危害

Parents are always telling kids they need to be optimistic, but there hasn't been much evidence that optimism really does them any good. Looking on the bright side may even hurt teenagers, say some experts, because it can make them downplay the risks posed by smoking and drug abuse. That's in stark contrast to older adults, who are generally healthier and happier the more optimistic they are.
父母總是告訴孩子要樂觀，但是沒有太多證據證明樂觀真的對他們有用。一些專家稱，看到樂觀的一面甚至會傷害到青少年，因爲這會使他們忽視吸菸和毒品引起的危害。這跟老年人完全相反，老年人一般是越樂觀，就越健康，越快樂。

But researchers in Australia say that optimism may help protect teenagers against depression. That news, reported in the journal Pediatrics, could matter to many teens, since 10 to 15 percent of adolescents have symptoms of depression at any given time. Depression is a huge risk factor for suicide and increases the risk of substance abuse, trouble in school and relationships, and physical illness.
但是澳大利的研究人員稱，樂觀可以幫助青少年對抗抑鬱症。報道在《兒科》雜誌上的這條新聞對許多青少年有重要關係，因爲10%-15%的青少年在任何給定的時間裏有抑鬱症症狀。抑鬱症是自殺的一個風險因素並增加藥物濫用，學校人際關係有困難和身體疾病的風險。

The researchers followed 5,634 Australian 12- and 13-year-olds for 18 months, asking them about their psychological state, substance abuse, and antisocial behavior. The more optimistic the students were, the less likely they were to become depressed. But there was just a modest effect on other common teen problems. For instance, optimistic teenagers were only slightly less likely to be involved in criminal activity or heavy substance abuse.
研究人員調查了5634名12-13歲的澳大利亞青少年18個月，詢問他們的心理狀態，濫用藥物程度和反社會行爲。越樂觀的學生，他們越不會患上抑鬱症。但是對於其他常見的青少年問題只是有一個適度的影響。例如，樂觀的青少年只是較少可能參加犯罪活動或嚴重濫用藥物。

What makes optimism work? An optimist believes the good things that happen in life will keep happening, and that they happen because she or he made them happen. Optimists also figure that bad things happen occasionally, and by chance, not because of one's own mistakes; and they believe those bad things are unlikely to happen again.
是什麼促使樂觀起作用？一個樂觀主義者相信生活中美好的事情會一直髮生，這些事情發生因爲她/他使它們發生。樂觀主義者也認爲壞事只是偶爾意外出現，不是因爲人做錯了；而且他們相信壞事不可能再次發生。

But for glass-half-empty types, there's good news: Optimism can be learned and it can help parents and teens deal more effectively with everyday adversity, says Martin Seligman, a psychologist who leads the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. And learning to be more optimistic is as easy as ABCDE, says Seligman. He describes our usual response to life's bumps and bruises as a three-step process, or ABC:
但是對於悲觀的人是好消息：樂觀可以通過學習而養成，它可以幫助父母和青少年更有效地處理日常逆境，賓夕法尼亞大學積極心理學中心主任Martin Seligman說。Seligman說，學習樂觀跟學習ABCDE一樣簡單。他將我們對生活中坎坷和挫傷的反應描述爲一個3步過程，或ABC：

•Adversity. Recognizing a problem.
•Belief. What you believe about the problem. For example, the guy who cut you off in traffic is a jerk and an idiot.
•Consequences. You get mad at that jerk, and it ruins your day.
•逆境。認識到問題。
•信念。你認爲問題是什麼。例如，讓你在路上受重傷的傢伙是個白癡和傻瓜。
•結果。你對那個白癡發火，這一切破壞了你的一天。

To avoid that bad consequence and increase optimism, Seligman recommends adding in two more steps, D and E:
爲了避免壞的結果，增加樂觀情緒，Seligman建議增加兩個步驟，D和E：

•Disputation. Question your belief in what happened. What else could have caused the problem? Does your belief in what happened do you any good? Apply that to the jerk-in-traffic example, and it's easy to see how you can start rewriting the scenario to a happier outcome.

•爭論。質問你產生的信念。還有什麼其他的原因引起這個問題？你所產生的看法對你有好處嗎?把這應用在路上的白癡這個例子上，很容易就能看到你怎麼開始將這個故事重寫成一個更快樂的情節。

•Energization. This one sounds a bit woo-woo, but it just means figuring out how you can improve the situation, and jumping on it. For road rage, it could be as simple as laughing over the craziness of rush-hour traffic. In other situations, it could be asking others to help with a challenging project, seeking forgiveness from someone you've wronged, or distracting yourself from brooding over the bad things in life.
•激發。 這聽起來有點呼呼，但這只是說想出你怎麼改進這種情況，並付諸行動。對於暴怒行爲，可以跟笑着談論上下班交通忙亂一樣簡單。對於其他狀況，可以像要求別人幫助完成一個有挑戰性的項目，尋求你做錯事的人的原諒，或分散憂鬱地沉思生活中壞事的注意力。

Our world is full of news that could turn us all into pessimists, and teenagers are experts at ruminating over the world's injustices. Optimism, whether born or learned, may make the travails of teenagerhood a bit less painful for us all.
我們的世界充滿使我們變成悲觀主義者的信息，而且青少年擅長沉思世界的不公平。樂觀，不管與生俱來的還是學習獲得的，會使我們苦苦掙扎的青少年時期少一點痛苦。