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。
