文章大意:这是一篇说明文。美国心理协会发表的一项新研究表明,参加课外艺术活动(如音乐、戏剧和绘画)的青少年比不参加的同龄人更容易出现抑郁症状。文章对此进行了介绍。
For teenagers, is a sense of comfort more commonly found in sports or arts? And how might this relate to their reported depressive symptoms? A new research published by the American Psychological Association suggests that teenagers participating in after-school art activities like music, drama, and painting are more likely to report depressive symptoms than their non-participating peers.
“This is not to say that depression is a necessary condition for either a teen or an adult to become an artist, nor are we showing that participating in the arts leads to mental illness,” said lead author Laura N. Young. MA. of Boston College. “However, previous research has revealed higher rates of mental illness symptoms in adult artists. We were interested in whether this association is present earlier in development.”
Interestingly, teens who engaged exclusively in sports and didn’t involve themselves in any other extracurricular activities were reported the least depressive symptoms. The researchers found no significant difference in depressive symptoms between teens involved in the arts who also did sports and those who didn’t, suggesting that arts participation, rather than a lack of sports participation, was associated with depression.
The researchers used data from the U. S. Survey of Youth collected from 2, 482 students 15 to 16 years old. The survey asked teens about their frequency of participation in arts or sports activities after school, and their experience of various moods or problems related to depression.
One theory the researchers proposed for the seeming link between the arts and mental illness symptoms is that people attracted to the arts might possess certain cognitive (认知的) qualities, such as absorbing a higher level of information from their surroundings. This could lead to general unhappiness and depression, yet also enhance creativity and artistic expression. The authors suggested that personality qualities linked to depression, like introversion (内向), might guide teens towards more individual activities like the arts.
“When positive behaviors such as being involved in the arts are associated with symptoms of mental illness, it’s essential that we understand why,” said Young. “Further research can address the question of whether possible psychological shortcomings can be transformed into benefits through the practice of the arts.”
8. What can we learn from the research findings?
A.Art activities directly lead to teen mental illness. |
B.Art participation can be related to teen depression. |
C.Sports are likely to increase depression rates in teens. |
D.Being depressed is necessary to become an artist later. |
9. Which has the closest meaning with the underlined word “exclusively” in Paragraph 3?
A.only | B.rarely | C.regularly | D.diversely |
10. What is Paragraph 5 of the text mainly about?
A.The overall framework of the research project |
B.The direct cause of the observed phenomenon. |
C.The theoretical basis of the possible connection. |
D.The methods applied in conducting the research. |
11. According to Young, what should follow-up researches focus on?
A.How to reduce depressive symptoms through sports. |
B.How to identify the positive impacts of the association. |
C.How to prove the link between creativity and depression. |
D.How to turn potential mental weaknesses into strengths. |