title: Positive affect promotes well-being and alleviates depression: The mediating effect of attentional bias.
abstract: The present study tested whether the relationships among positive affect, psychological well-being, life satisfaction and depression could be explained by positive and negative attentional bias. Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses were conducted based on 565 medical freshmen in China. The model of attentional bias as a mediator between positive affect promoting well-being and decreasing depression fit the data. Finding showed positive affect significantly related to positive and negative attentional biases. People who had higher level of positive affect held more positive attentional bias and less negative attentional bias, and reported higher levels of psychological well-being, life satisfaction and lower levels of depression. The utility of the attentional bias as the mechanism through which positive affect enhances well-being and alleviates depression was supported. Applications in cultivating positive affect and regulating attentional bias in counseling and education are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yongju
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yuanjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Botao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Junrun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bian
authors.affiliation: Department of Military Psychology, College of Psychology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address: limin52267@tmmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001290:Attitude; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Attentional bias; Positive affect; medical freshmen; well-being