[The factor structure of relief feeling in situations: relief from tension and calmness and relaxation]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective emotional states of 'feeling of relief (ANDO-KAN),' In Study 1, an open-ended questionnaire, with 64 subjects, found 127 concrete situations, in which they experienced feeling of relief. In Study 2, 182 subjects completed a questionnaire, which measured subjective arousal during the time they experienced relief. Results indicated that two distinct type of situation were related to feeling of relief: situation of relief from tension and that of calmness and relaxation. Tension was associated with the former, but not the latter; however, general deactivation characterized both types of situation. We concluded that feeling of relief probably consisted of two discrete subjective emotional states, and that they could be explained in terms of distinct arousal states.