Humor as a protective factor against anxiety and depression

• Álvaro Menéndez-Aller ^[1] ; Álvaro Postigo ^[1] ; Pelayo Montes-Álvarez ^[1] ; Francisco José González-Primo ^[1] ; Eduardo García-Cueto ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Oviedo

     Universidad de Oviedo

     Oviedo, España

     
• Localización: International journal of clinical and health psychology, ISSN 1697-2600, Vol. 20, Nº. 1, 2020, págs. 38-45
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2019.12.002
• Títulos paralelos:
  • El humor como factor protector de la ansiedad y la depresión
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Dialnet Métricas: 5 Citas
• Resumen
  • español

    Antecedentes/Objetivos Si bien el humor es algo que forma parte de la vida cotidiana, en los últimos 40 años la Psicología ha empezado a discernir su impacto en la salud mental. El objetivo de este estudio explora el papel que los tipos de humor pueden tener como protectores de la ansiedad y la depresión y su relación con el optimismo.

    Método Se empleó una muestra de 804 participantes (M = 39.28; DT = 14.71) para analizar los usos del humor, el optimismo y los síntomas clínicos de ansiedad y depresión. Además, se estudió la influencia de variables sociodemográficas como el sexo, la ubicación geográfica, la edad y el nivel de estudios en los diferentes usos del humor. A través de un análisis de ecuaciones estructurales, se analizó qué variables poseían un papel protector o facilitador en la depresión y en la ansiedad.

    Resultados Los hombres y las mujeres difieren en el uso de un humor más agresivo y el uso del humor afiliativo disminuye con la edad. El modelo de ecuaciones estructurales mostró un buen ajuste al modelo teórico propuesto.

    Conclusiones El humor es una herramienta de la vida cotidiana y puede actuar a favor o en contra de la salud mental del individuo.

  • English

    Background/Objectives Even though humor its part of everyday life, only in the last 40 years has Psychology begun to discern its impact on mental health. The aim of this paper is to explore the role that humor styles may have as protectors against anxiety and depression and their relationship with optimism.

    Method A sample of 804 participants (M = 39.28; SD = 14.71) was used to analyze the uses of humor, optimism and clinical symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, the influence of sociodemographic variables such as sex, geographic location, age and educational level on different uses of humor was studied. Through an analysis of structural equations, the variables that had a protective or facilitating role in depression and anxiety were analyzed.

    Results Men and women differ in the use of a more aggressive humor style, and the use of affiliative humor styles decreases with age. The structural equation model indicated a good fit to the proposed theoretical model.

    Conclusions Humor is a tool of everyday life and it can act for or against an individual’s mental health.

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