童年不幸者更富创造力

贝多芬小时候经常被父亲打耳光，梵高的童年是在父母的冷眼中度过的，这些不幸的经历居然和他们后来的成就有关系！研究人员发现，童年痛苦的人长大后往往更容易表现出非凡的创造力和艺术天分，不过，他们的心理健康问题也更严重。

Performing artists who were exposed to abuse, neglect or a dysfunctional family as a child might experience their creative process more intensely, according to a new long-term study that has found a link between the two.

一项长期研究发现，表演艺术家的创造力和童年经历存在联系——童年不幸者（如被虐待、被忽视、家庭不和睦）更富创造力。

Psychologists at California State University, Northridge, studied 234 professional performers, looking for a reason why mental health disorders are so common in the performing arts.

美国加州州立大学北岭分校的心理学家调查了234名专业表演家，寻找表演艺术家心理健康问题频发的原因。

"The notion that artists and performing artists suffered more pathology, including bipolar disorder, troubled us," psychologist Paula Thomson, a co-author on the new study, told Psypost.

这项新研究的作者之一、心理学家宝拉·汤姆森告诉Psypost网站说：“艺术家和表演家更容易患上躁郁症等心理疾病，这让我们感到困扰。”

The study examined 83 actors, directors, and designers; 129 dancers; and 20 musicians and opera singers. These study participants filled out self-report surveys pertaining to childhood adversity, sense of shame, creative experiences, proneness to fantasies, anxiety, and level of engagement in an activity.

该研究调查了83名演员、导演和设计师、129名舞者、20名音乐家和歌剧演唱家。这些参与者填写了有关童年不幸、羞耻感、创作体验、幻想倾向、焦虑和活动参与度的自陈报告。

The study found that, compared to the original Adverse Childhood Experiences study conducted back in 1998 on 9,508 adults, performing artists as a group reported a higher level of childhood emotional abuse and neglect.

1998年，研究人员探究过9508位成年人的童年不幸经历。他们对比两项研究结果后发现，相较于普通人，表演艺术家在童年期经历精神虐待和忽视的几率更高。

The participants were able to be categorised into three groups: those who reported a high level of childhood adversity; those who had experienced a lower or medium level; and those who had experienced little to none.

这回，研究人员根据童年不幸程度，将调查对象分为三组：高程度（非常不幸）、中低程度（比较不幸）、零程度（几乎没有经历过不幸）。

It's the high-level group that demonstrated the greater extremes. These performing artists had much higher anxiety, much more internalised shame, and reported more cumulative past traumatic events. They were also more prone to fantasies.

研究发现，高程度组情况最极端。这些表演艺术家明显更焦虑、更具主观羞耻感、经历过更多创伤事件、更容易陷入幻想。

But they also seemed more connected with the creative process, the researchers said. They were more aware of it, and reported feeling more absorbed in it. They reported heightened awareness of a state of inspiration and a sense of discovery during the process.

但研究人员指出，同时，他们似乎也更富有创作力。他们更具创造意识，更容易沉浸其中。他们更常迸发灵感，在创作过程中也更常发现新事物。

They were also able to move more easily between the state of absorption and a more distant state for critical awareness, and were more receptive to art.

此外，他们能够更轻松地在“沉浸其中”和“跳脱出来进行批判”这两种状态之间进行切换，对艺术的接受能力也更强。

"Lastly," the researchers wrote, "[this] group identified greater appreciation for the transformational quality of creativity, in particular, how the creative process enabled a deeper engagement with the self and world. They recognised that it operated as a powerful force in their life."

研究人员写道，“最后，这一人群更重视创造力的转换特性——创作过程使他们和自我、和世界联系更紧密。他们认为，创作是他们生活中的一股强大力量。”

Obviously the study has caveats, as self-reported studies can be prone to personal bias. Also, since it was limited to performing artists, comparisons couldn't easily be made with other subsets of the population.

显然，这项研究存在一些缺陷。首先，自我报告法容易产生主观偏差。其次，调查对象仅限于表演艺术家，结论未必适用于其他人群。

Nevertheless, the finding, the researchers said, may indicate that adult performers who have experienced childhood adversity are better able to recognise and value the creative process; and the ability of that group to enjoy the creative process could indicate resilience.

研究人员指出，结果显示，童年不幸的表演艺术家更认可和重视创作过程，他们能享受创作过程或许也是他们适应生活的手段。

"We are saddened by the number of participants in our study who have suffered multiple forms of childhood adversity as well as adult assaults (both sexual and non-sexual)," Thomson told Psypost.

汤姆森告诉Psypost网站说：“参与我们研究的很多人童年时期都经历过多种不幸和来自成年人的性侵或其他攻击，这让我们很伤感。”

"So many participants in our sample have experienced poly-traumatization and yet they also embrace their passion for performance and creativity. They are embracing ways to express all that is human."

“我们采样的对象中有这么多人经历过多重精神创伤，但他们却依然富有表演和创作的激情。他们努力用各种方式表达出人性的一切。”

The research has been published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

该研究报告发表在《心理学前沿》期刊上。

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