"Bystanders See More Clearly": The Mechanism and Intervention of Self-Distancing on Depression in College Students

Depression has become the primary problem endangering the mental health of college students, and exploring effective and convenient intervention pathways has important theoretical and practical significance. Based on depressive schema theory and the dual-process model of cognitive vulnerability to depression, this study, from the perspective of self-reflection, comprehensively employs questionnaire methods, experimental methods, and micro-longitudinal experimental dynamic assessment interventions to systematically examine the mechanism of action and intervention effects of self-distance on depression among college students. Study 1, through a cross-sectional design (N=770) and a 10-day dynamic assessment (N=156), found that both trait and state self-distance negatively predict depressive symptoms, and that positive rumination and negative rumination in the relationship between the two...