自信波动性对心理健康的影响:连续记录法的证据

The Influence of Fluctuations of Self-confidence on the Mental Health: Evidence from Continuous Measurement Method

使用总体自信问卷、心理健康量表,采用连续记录法,对初中生的自信波动性及其对心理健康的影响进行探讨。结果表明:(1)自信与自信波动性相关不显著;(2)分层回归结果显示,在控制了性别和自信之后,自信波动性对心理健康水平有负面作用,自信波动性越大,焦虑和抑郁的程度越高,自我肯定和心理健康水平越低。

Self-confidence is one essential psychological variables / mechanism required in social adapta- tion. A large number of researches have provided evidence that self-confidence plays an important role in one＇s mental function and its development. Besides focused on the level of self-confidence, researchers have turned their attentions recently to the structural characters of self-confidence, such as complexity, certainty and stability, and investigated their function on mental health. However, there is no such researches that explore the fluctuations of self-confidence. The fluctuations of self-confidence indicate the magnitude of short-term fluctuations that people experience in their contextually based, immediate feelings of self-worth, self-ability and so on. The current study investigated the effects of fluctuations of self-confidence on the mental health among the high school students. In this study, fluctuation of self-confidence was measured by repeated assessments of self-confidence in naturalistic context. Firstly, 121 junior high school students completed the general self-confidence questionnaire and the general health questionnaire-20（GHQ-20）; In the following two weeks, students completed the current self-confidence questionnaire twice per day in the morning and afternoon. At last, the participants completed the general self-confidence questionnaire and the GHQ-20. Using the standard deviation of self-confidence as fluctuation index of self-confidence, the results showed no significant correlation between self-confidence and fluctuations of self-confidence. There was a negatively significant correlation either between fluctuations and the mental health （r=-0.32, p〈0.01）, or between fluctuations and sense of adequacy （r=-0.22, p〈0.05）. Fluctuations negative related to depression and anxiety （r=0.30, p〈0.01; r=0.22, p〈0.05）. After controlling gender and the general self-confidence, hierarchical regression indicated a negatively fluctuations of self-confidence on mental health （β=-0.26, p〈 0.01） and sense of adequacy （β=-0.15, p〈0.05）, positive effects on anxiety and depression （β=0.26, 0.20, ps〈0.05）. Those results suggested fluctuations of self-confidence matter the mental health uniquely. We proposal two different ways explain this negative effect on mental health from fluctuation of self- confidence. The fluctuation of self-confidence reflects an underlying uncertainty of the self. Individuals with unstable self-confidence intend interpreting daily events as being self relevant, and based their self-judgments are on contextual information. This ego involvement makes them feel more reactivity to the external situation. Therefore, individuals with unstable self-confidence may exaggerate an event＇s evaluative implications especially the negative one, they are likely to explain negative events as internal, stable, and global. The overgeneralization tendencies and disadvantageous attribution styles increased the probability of getting depressed and anxious. On the other hand, individuals with stable self-confidence can face up to their weakness and rarely judge themselves by the external situation and the experiences of their successes and failures. Stable self-confidence reflects firm self-concept, and can avoid the influences caused by the external situation especially the negative life events, hence, beneficial to one＇s mental health and help in- dividual against outside stimulation and threats.