College students who wrote about the abstract context of a recent social rejection (e.g., ''How do you think you will view this event in 1-2 years?'') subsequently reported lower levels of depression and rumination symptoms than those who wrote about the abstract reasons or implications (e.g., ''Why do you think this happened?'') or those given no writing instructions. A third group who wrote about concrete aspects of their experience (e.g., ''As you recall the event, what physical sensations do you notice?'') had lower rumination scores than the no-writing control. Results are discussed in terms of the relative contributions of level of abstraction, contextual focus, and negative self-judgment in emotional processing.
This study underscored the importance of addressing the well‐being of college students of Asian descent, because these students had higher rates of depression and lower positive feelings about their ethnic group compared with students of European descent, as measured by the Affirmation subscale of the Ethnic Identity Scale. Affirmation mediated the depression difference between these groups. Within the Asian group, affirmation and depression were inversely correlated, and this relationship was mediated by acculturative stress.
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