POSITIVE AUTOMATIC COGNITIONS AS MODERATORS OF THE NEGATIVE LIFE EVENT DYSPHORIA RELATIONSHIP

In this study, the author tested the hypothesis that positive automatic thoughts and the Positive Automatic Thoughts x Negative Life Stress interaction would predict dysphoria. The Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Positive, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire, the Life Experiences Survey, and the Beck Depression Inventory, were administered to 71 undergraduate volunteers. In hierarchical regression analyses, positive thoughts accounted for unique variance in dysphoria, over and above the variance accounted for by negative life stress and negative thoughts. Furthermore, for higher levels of positive cognitions, negative life stress had a reduced association with dysphoria, which suggested that, as hypothesized, positive cognitions may serve as stress-buffers. Positive automatic cognitions appear to be conceptually viable and may help to account for varied emotional reactions to life stress.