| Depression,characterized by its impact on individuals’ physical,psychological,and social functioning,can even lead to an increased risk of suicide in severe cases.However,research has shown that individuals with depression have a low rate of seeking professional help.Moreover,the limited availability of psychological support resources makes it difficult for those in need to receive timely assistance.Therefore,the development of self-help psychological interventions is highly necessary.This study focuses on a new writing paradigm within self-help psychological therapy called the Psychological Displacement Diary Paradigm(PDDP).The PDDP requires participants to write a diary entry using the first-person pronoun("I")to narrate an event,then switch to the second-person pronoun("you")to retell the same event from a different perspective.Finally,participants are instructed to rewrite the event using the third-person pronoun("he" or "she")from yet another perspective.These three narratives should be completed sequentially.Based on the literature review,previous studies examining the intervention effectiveness of the PDDP on depressed university students used copying as the control group.However,the PDDP possesses both "expressive writing" and "multi-perspective transformation" attributes.To further elucidate the role of "multi-perspective transformation" writing,the control group should also control for the "expressive writing" attribute.Furthermore,previous research on the mechanisms underlying the PDDP is lacking and requires further investigation.Therefore,this study aims to examine the effectiveness and mechanisms of the PDDP as a self-help intervention for depressed university students.Study One adopts an experimental approach to test the effectiveness of the PDDP on depressed university students.The study includes 124 university students as participants and employs a 2(intervention type: PDDP,expressive writing)× 2(depression status: depressed,non-depressed)× 4(assessment time: pretest,posttest,delayed posttest,follow-up)mixed factorial design.The intervention type and depression status are between-subject variables,while the assessment time is a within-subject variable.Participants are divided into four groups based on the intervention type and depression status and receive a two-week online writing intervention,consisting of four sessions.The effectiveness of the intervention is assessed using latent growth modeling and analysis of variance(ANOVA).The results indicate that both the PDDP and expressive writing have significant intervention effects on depressed university students,leading to a reduction in depression levels.However,there is no significant difference in the intervention effects between the PDDP group and the expressive writing group.Additionally,Study One employs paired-sample t-tests to analyze the effectiveness of different perspectives(first-person,second-person,third-person)in the PDDP on psychological distance.The results show that psychological distance can serve as a quantifiable indicator of the PDDP,with significant differences observed among the different perspectives.Specifically,the psychological distance after writing in the third-person perspective is greater than that after writing in the second-person perspective,which,in turn,is greater than that after writing in the first-person perspective.Furthermore,depressed and non-depressed participants exhibit different characteristics in terms of psychological distance based on perspectives.Depressed participants demonstrate significantly higher psychological distance regarding negative events compared to non-depressed participants.Moreover,the psychological distance range in the PDDP is significantly smaller for depressed participants than for non-depressed participants.Study Two employs an experimental approach to investigate the mechanisms underlying the PDDP’s effects on depressed university students.The study participants and design are the same as in Study One.This study utilizes a moderated mediation model to examine the mediating role of negative affect and the moderating role of Zhongyong-thinking(a concept related to balanced thinking)in the relationship between the intervention type and negative affect.The results indicate that negative affect exhibits a conditional mediation effect under the influence of Zhongyong-thinking.Specifically,among individuals with moderate levels of Zhongyong-thinking,the PDDP,compared to expressive writing,is more effective in reducing depression by decreasing negative affect.Study Three supplements Studies One and Two by conducting interviews to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons and processes underlying the effectiveness of the PDDP.This study employs thematic analysis to analyze the qualitative data obtained from the interviews.The results reveal that depressed university students hold a dual perspective on Zhongyong-thinking,encompassing both recognition and criticism.The subjective criteria for evaluating psychological distance among depressed university students are complex and include variables such as emotional intensity,engagement,event occurrence time,and the social distance behind the perspective.Depressed university students consider the change in analytical perspective as the most critical factor contributing to the effectiveness of the PDDP,reporting more cognitive changes,followed by emotional changes.In summary,in terms of intervention effectiveness,both the PDDP and expressive writing have significant intervention effects on depressed university students,leading to a reduction in depression levels.However,there is no significant difference in the intervention effects between the PDDP group and the expressive writing group.Regarding mechanisms,for depressed university students with moderate Zhongyong-thinking,negative affect fully mediates the impact of intervention type on depression levels.This means that the differences between the PDDP and expressive writing in terms of their effects on depression levels are completely mediated by negative affect. |
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