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<p>This study aimed to examine the effects of flow on college students’ state anxiety, explore its mechanisms by considering self-focus as a potential factor influencing anxiety, and compare it with cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Participants were recruited from a university in Shanghai. In Experiment 1, a mixed experimental design was employed to compare the effects of three interventions on anxiety and self-focus before and after the interventions. The results indicated a significant reduction in anxiety levels within the flow group from pre- to post-intervention, with no significant differences compared to emotion regulation strategies. Additionally, the flow group exhibited a trend towards significantly higher levels of reflective self-focus compared to rumination post-intervention (<i>t</i>(33) = −2.77, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01, Cohen’s <i>d</i> = 0.47). To further substantiate these findings, Experiment 2 directly induced maladaptive self-focus and compared the intervention effects of flow and cognitive reappraisal, showing that flow interventions effectively reduce maladaptive self-focus, whereas cognitive reappraisal may exacerbate it under certain conditions (<i>F</i>(1,77) = 13.04, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01, <InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <InlineMediaObject> <ImageObject Color="BlackWhite" FileRef="12144_2025_7514_Article_IEq1.gif" Format="GIF" Height="22" Rendition="HTML" Resolution="72" Type="Linedraw" Width="22" /> </InlineMediaObject> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(\:{\eta\:}_{p}^{2}\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>&#xa0;= 0.146). This study demonstrated that flow effectively reduces anxiety by mitigating maladaptive self-focus. The findings highlight flow’s ability to diminish rumination and encourage active participation in purposeful, goal-oriented tasks, making it a valuable tool for anxiety management.</p>

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Alleviating anxiety through flow: the role of reduced maladaptive self-focus

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月18日

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  • Xuening Li,
  • Ting Yang,
  • Haiping Hu,
  • Yuedong Wu,
  • Junlong Luo

摘要

This study aimed to examine the effects of flow on college students’ state anxiety, explore its mechanisms by considering self-focus as a potential factor influencing anxiety, and compare it with cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Participants were recruited from a university in Shanghai. In Experiment 1, a mixed experimental design was employed to compare the effects of three interventions on anxiety and self-focus before and after the interventions. The results indicated a significant reduction in anxiety levels within the flow group from pre- to post-intervention, with no significant differences compared to emotion regulation strategies. Additionally, the flow group exhibited a trend towards significantly higher levels of reflective self-focus compared to rumination post-intervention (t(33) = −2.77, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.47). To further substantiate these findings, Experiment 2 directly induced maladaptive self-focus and compared the intervention effects of flow and cognitive reappraisal, showing that flow interventions effectively reduce maladaptive self-focus, whereas cognitive reappraisal may exacerbate it under certain conditions (F(1,77) = 13.04, p < 0.01, \(\:{\eta\:}_{p}^{2}\)  = 0.146). This study demonstrated that flow effectively reduces anxiety by mitigating maladaptive self-focus. The findings highlight flow’s ability to diminish rumination and encourage active participation in purposeful, goal-oriented tasks, making it a valuable tool for anxiety management.