Abstract
Previous studies from western countries have reported that happy individuals report lower levels of negative mood during and/or following mental stress testing; this finding has not been examined in Japan. This study examined the relationship between happiness, measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), and negative moods (i.e., tension and anxiety) during and after mental stress testing in Japanese college students. Based on the findings of previous literature and inverse correlations between positive and negative moods, we hypothesized that participants with higher levels of happiness (the higher happiness group, or HG) show significantly lower levels of negative moods and higher levels of positive moods following mental stress testing, compared to participants with lower levels of happiness (the lower happiness group, or LG). Of a total of 392 Japanese undergraduates who participated in a screening survey, those whose scores were one standard deviation higher or lower than the average score were invited to participate in the experiment. Eight HG and nine LG students agreed to participate. A five-minute computerized mental arithmetic task was used to induce stress. The session comprised a five minute pre-task period, a five minute task, and a five minute post-task period. The levels of positive and negative moods during each period were measured retrospectively following each period. Heart rate was measured during the session. Participant heart rate levels and negative moods increased significantly from the pre-task to the task periods, and subsequently decreased during the post-task period. Levels of positive mood decreased from the pre-task to the task period. Negative moods were significantly lower in HGs than in LGs during the post-task period. These results partially supported the hypothesis whereby subjective happiness buffered the impact of stressors on negative moods by influencing post-stress negative mood levels.
Highlights
Stress management is an important issue for maintaining health (Greenberg, 2010)
Heart rate increased during mental stress testing and returned to the baseline level four minutes after the test ended
These changes in heart rate were consistent with those of previous studies (Bostock et al, 2011; Brummett et al, 2009; Steptoe et al, 2007), which reported that mental stress testing results in an increased heart rate
Summary
Stress management is an important issue for maintaining health (Greenberg, 2010). Stress is related to increased risks in relation to numerous chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (McEwen, 1998), and decreased productivity (Watts & Robertson, 2011). Few studies have examined relationships between trait positive affect and negative moods following mental stress testing, results have been inconsistent. Bostock et al (2011) found no significant relationships between positive emotional style, tension, and anxiety following mental stress testing These results show that higher levels of happiness or trait positive affect is associated with lower levels of negative moods during and after mental stress testing. Little is known whether happiness, which is measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999), is associated with improved moods following mental stress testing. This study examines the relationship between happiness and negative mood during and after mental stress testing in Japanese students. Hypothesis 2: Happier individuals have significantly lower levels of negative and higher levels of positive mood following mental stress testing. A practical demonstration of the moodbuffering effects of happiness will provide the rationale to health promotion practitioners to incorporate happiness-enhancing interventions in stress management programs in Japan
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