This study examined the relationship between positive irrational beliefs, or positive illusions, and mental health. It attempted to address previous issues with inferential methods for assessing such beliefs by directly assessing positive irrational beliefs relating to the self, control, and optimism. The study included 1243 participants who completed the survey questionnaire. A two-step structural equation modeling framework was used to test associations between positive irrational beliefs and mental health constructs. This allowed for a componential analysis separating a higher order factor, likely representing positive mood from positive irrational beliefs. The study showed that positive irrational beliefs were consistently associated with poor mental health outcomes (i.e. increased emotional distress, reduced self-esteem and optimism, and reduced use of effective coping strategies). The higher order factor instead demonstrated associations with better mental health outcomes. It is concluded that positive illusions may be negative defence mechanisms that are detrimental to people’s long-term mental health.

中文翻译：

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积极的非理性信念和心理健康

这项研究检查了积极的非理性信念或积极的错觉与心理健康之间的关系。它试图通过直接评估与自我、控制和乐观相关的积极非理性信念，用推断方法来解决以前的问题，以评估此类信念。该研究包括 1243 名完成调查问卷的参与者。两步结构方程建模框架用于测试积极的非理性信念和心理健康结构之间的关联。这允许进行成分分析，将高阶因素分开，可能代表积极情绪和积极的非理性信念。该研究表明，积极的非理性信念始终与不良的心理健康结果相关（即情绪困扰增加、自尊心和乐观情绪降低、并减少使用有效的应对策略）。相反，高阶因素显示出与更好的心理健康结果的关联。得出的结论是，积极错觉可能是对人们长期心理健康有害的消极防御机制。