乐观帮助青少年预防抑郁症和健康危害

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.
父母总是告诉孩子要乐观，但是没有太多证据证明乐观真的对他们有用。一些专家称，看到乐观的一面甚至会伤害到青少年，因为这会使他们忽视吸烟和毒品引起的危害。这跟老年人完全相反，老年人一般是越乐观，就越健康，越快乐。

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员称，乐观可以帮助青少年对抗抑郁症。报道在《儿科》杂志上的这条新闻对许多青少年有重要关系，因为10%-15%的青少年在任何给定的时间里有抑郁症症状。抑郁症是自杀的一个风险因素并增加药物滥用，学校人际关系有困难和身体疾病的风险。

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.
研究人员调查了5634名12-13岁的澳大利亚青少年18个月，询问他们的心理状态，滥用药物程度和反社会行为。越乐观的学生，他们越不会患上抑郁症。但是对于其他常见的青少年问题只是有一个适度的影响。例如，乐观的青少年只是较少可能参加犯罪活动或严重滥用药物。

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.
是什么促使乐观起作用？一个乐观主义者相信生活中美好的事情会一直发生，这些事情发生因为她/他使它们发生。乐观主义者也认为坏事只是偶尔意外出现，不是因为人做错了；而且他们相信坏事不可能再次发生。

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:
但是对于悲观的人是好消息：乐观可以通过学习而养成，它可以帮助父母和青少年更有效地处理日常逆境，宾夕法尼亚大学积极心理学中心主任Martin Seligman说。Seligman说，学习乐观跟学习ABCDE一样简单。他将我们对生活中坎坷和挫伤的反应描述为一个3步过程，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。认识到问题。
•信念。你认为问题是什么。例如，让你在路上受重伤的家伙是个白痴和傻瓜。
•结果。你对那个白痴发火，这一切破坏了你的一天。

To avoid that bad consequence and increase optimism, Seligman recommends adding in two more steps, D and E:
为了避免坏的结果，增加乐观情绪，Seligman建议增加两个步骤，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.

•争论。质问你产生的信念。还有什么其他的原因引起这个问题？你所产生的看法对你有好处吗?把这应用在路上的白痴这个例子上，很容易就能看到你怎么开始将这个故事重写成一个更快乐的情节。

•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.
•激发。 这听起来有点呼呼，但这只是说想出你怎么改进这种情况，并付诸行动。对于暴怒行为，可以跟笑着谈论上下班交通忙乱一样简单。对于其他状况，可以像要求别人帮助完成一个有挑战性的项目，寻求你做错事的人的原谅，或分散忧郁地沉思生活中坏事的注意力。

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.
我们的世界充满使我们变成悲观主义者的信息，而且青少年擅长沉思世界的不公平。乐观，不管与生俱来的还是学习获得的，会使我们苦苦挣扎的青少年时期少一点痛苦。