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Psychology and Aging Feb 2024Research across a number of different areas in psychology has long shown that optimism and pessimism are predictive of a number of important future life outcomes....
Research across a number of different areas in psychology has long shown that optimism and pessimism are predictive of a number of important future life outcomes. Despite a vast literature on the correlates and consequences, we know very little about how optimism and pessimism change across adulthood and old age and the sociodemographic factors that are associated with individual differences in such trajectories. In the present study, we conducted (parallel) analyses of standard items from the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985) in three comprehensive data sets: Two-wave data from both the Berlin Aging Study II (N = 1,423, aged 60-88; M = 70.4, SD = 3.70) and the Midlife in the U.S. Study (N = 1,810 aged 60-84; M = 69.12, SD = 6.47) as well as cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement (N = 17,087, aged 60-99; M = 70.19, SD = 7.53). Using latent change-regression models and locally weighted smoothing curves revealed that optimism is on average very stable after age 60, with some evidence in Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement of lowered optimism in very old age. Consistent across the three independent studies, pessimism evinced on average modest increases, ranging between .25 and .50 SD per 10 years of age. Of the sociodemographic factors examined, higher levels of education revealed the most consistent associations with lower pessimism, whereas gender evinced more study-specific findings. We take our results to demonstrate that age-related trajectories and correlates thereof differ for optimism and pessimism. Older adults appear to preserve into older ages those levels of optimistic expectations they have had at 60 years of age and show only modest increases in pessimism. We discuss possible reasons for these findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Humans; Aged; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Pessimism; Aging; Educational Status; Individuality
PubMed: 38358694
DOI: 10.1037/pag0000789 -
Palliative & Supportive Care Dec 2018Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of patients with heart failure (HF) is low despite the aim of HF treatment to improve HR-QoL. To date, most studies have focused...
OBJECTIVES
Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) of patients with heart failure (HF) is low despite the aim of HF treatment to improve HR-QoL. To date, most studies have focused on medical and physical factors in relation to HR-QoL, few data are available on the role of emotional factors such as dispositional optimism. This study examines the prevalence of optimism and pessimism in HF patients and investigates how optimism and pessimism are associated with different patient characteristics and HR-QoL.
METHODS
Dispositional optimism was assessed in 86 HF patients (mean age 70 ± 9 years, 28% female, mean left ventricular ejection fraction 33%) with the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R). HR-QoL was assessed with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire and the EuroQol.
RESULTS
The (mean ± SD) total score on the LOT-R was 14.6 ± 2.9 (theoretical range 0-24) and the scores on the subscales optimism and pessimism were 8.1 ± 1.9 and 5.5 ± 2.5, respectively. Higher age was related to more optimism (r = 0.22, p < 0.05), and optimism was associated with higher generic HR-QoL (B = 0.04, p < 0.05).Significance of resultsThe association found between optimism and generic HR-QoL of HF patients can lead to promising strategies to improve HF patients' HR-QoL, particularly because the literature has indicated that optimism is a modifiable condition.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Female; Heart Failure; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Netherlands; Optimism; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 29199634
DOI: 10.1017/S1478951517001055 -
Scientific Reports Jul 2020Scores on an optimistic-pessimistic personality scale have been associated with mortality, but optimism and pessimism scores are separable traits and it is unclear which...
Scores on an optimistic-pessimistic personality scale have been associated with mortality, but optimism and pessimism scores are separable traits and it is unclear which has effects on health or longevity. The Life Orientation Test (LOT), containing items for optimism and pessimism, was included in a twin study on health of Australians aged over 50 in 1993-1995. After a mean of 20 years, participants were matched against death information from the Australian National Death Index. 1,068 out of 2,978 participants with useable LOT scores had died. Survival analysis tested for associations between separate optimism and pessimism scores and mortality from any cause, and from cancers, cardiovascular diseases or other known causes. Age-adjusted scores on the pessimism scale were associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality (Hazard Ratios per 1 standard deviation unit, 95% confidence intervals and p-values 1.134, 1.065-1.207, 8.85 × 10 and 1.196, 1.045-1.368, 0.0093, respectively) but not with cancer deaths. Optimism scores, which were only weakly correlated with pessimism scores (age-adjusted rank correlation = - 0.176), did not show significant associations with overall or cause-specific mortality. Reverse causation (disease causing pessimism) is unlikely because in that case both cardiovascular diseases and cancers would be expected to lead to pessimism.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular Diseases; Female; Humans; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Male; Middle Aged; Optimism; Pessimism; Proportional Hazards Models
PubMed: 32724068
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69388-y -
Journal of Affective Disorders Aug 2022Rumination and worry represent two types of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and their predictive and maintaining roles are well-established in depression and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Rumination and worry represent two types of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and their predictive and maintaining roles are well-established in depression and anxiety, respectively. Furthermore, there is an emerging literature on the link between RNT and psychological wellbeing in the perinatal period.
METHODS
We conducted a scoping review of studies that have investigated the relationship between RNT and perinatal depression and anxiety. We identified 87 papers eligible for inclusion in the review; they included cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, as well as treatment evaluations (pilot trials and randomised controlled trials).
RESULTS
Cross-sectional studies provided evidence of an association between RNT (i.e., rumination and worry) and depression and anxiety, in both pregnancy and postpartum. Longitudinal findings were mixed. Whilst antenatal worry consistently predicted subsequent depression and anxiety (both later in pregnancy and postpartum), rumination did not consistently predict depression. However, there was some evidence that rumination interacted with other processes to predict later psychopathology. Three randomised controlled trials evaluated whether psychological treatments reduce RNT in the perinatal period, only one of which included a clinical sample.
LIMITATIONS
No experimental investigations were eligible for inclusion in the review.
CONCLUSIONS
Further studies are needed to further our understanding of the nature and role of RNT in pregnancy and postpartum, and its consequences for maternal mental health. These include (but are not limited to) experimental investigations, studies with large clinical samples, and RCTs evaluating the effectiveness of psychological interventions targeting RNT to prevent and treat perinatal depression and anxiety.
Topics: Anxiety; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression; Female; Humans; Pessimism; Pregnancy; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35597469
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.05.070 -
Psychopathology 2018There is evidence that anxiety is common, perhaps even more prevalent than depression, in the post-partum period. In this review we propose adopting a transdiagnostic... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
There is evidence that anxiety is common, perhaps even more prevalent than depression, in the post-partum period. In this review we propose adopting a transdiagnostic approach to perinatal mental health: to delineate psychopathology and identify potential underlying cognitive mechanisms such as repetitive negative thinking (RNT).
SAMPLING AND METHODS
We provide an overview of key studies of RNT in perinatal mental health and suggest directions for future work. We propose the value of examining post-partum depression and anxiety, and their co-occurrence, and of testing whether the psychological mechanisms that predict and maintain depression and anxiety also play a role in these conditions in the post-partum period. Further, given that psychological distress often first emerges in the antenatal phase, we make a case for investigating RNT across the perinatal period - i.e., in antenatal and postnatal women.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
RNT may be a modifiable risk factor which can be targeted in pregnancy to prevent depression and anxiety in new mothers.
Topics: Adult; Anxiety; Depression, Postpartum; Female; Humans; Mental Health; Perinatal Care; Pessimism; Pregnancy; Psychopathology; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 29694970
DOI: 10.1159/000488114 -
Otolaryngology--head and Neck Surgery :... May 2023Hearing loss (HL) has been linked to commonly studied detrimental mood states, such as loneliness and depression. However, its relationship with other negative emotions...
OBJECTIVE
Hearing loss (HL) has been linked to commonly studied detrimental mood states, such as loneliness and depression. However, its relationship with other negative emotions remained largely unstudied. We explore the association between HL and anxiety, anger, hostility, poor self-esteem, and pessimism in a national cohort of US Hispanic adults.
STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING
Multicentered US national epidemiologic study (Hispanic Community Health Study).
METHODS
Subjects were ages 18 to 75 with completed audiometric and emotional survey data. Multivariable regressions controlling for age, gender, and education were conducted to analyze the association between HL, measured by 4-frequency pure-tone average (PTA), and emotional states. States included anxiety (Spielberger Trait Anxiety Scale-10), anger (Spielberger Trait Anger Scale), hostility (Cook Medley Cynicism Scale-13), poor self-esteem (Self-Esteem Scale-10), and pessimism (Revised Life Orientation Test).
RESULTS
A total of 4120 to 4341 participants met inclusion criteria, depending on the specific survey; the average age was 46.7 years (standard deviation [SD] = 13.7), and the average PTA was 13.8 dB (SD = 10.1). Controlling for age, gender, and education, HL was associated with all outcomes. Specifically, for every 10 dB worsening in HL, the anxiety score worsened by 0.41 (0.23-0.60), the anger score worsened by 0.40 (0.22-0.58), the hostility score worsened by 0.16 (0.04-0.27), the self-esteem score worsened by 0.25 (0.12-0.38), and the pessimism score worsened by 0.17 (0.04-0.30) (all p < .01).
CONCLUSION
HL is related to numerous negative mood states beyond loneliness and depression. This includes worse anxiety, anger, hostility, self-esteem, and pessimism. Future studies should investigate whether treating HL improves negative emotional states.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Humans; Middle Aged; Young Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hearing Loss; Hispanic or Latino; Hostility; Emotions; Self Concept; Pessimism; United States
PubMed: 36939491
DOI: 10.1002/ohn.208 -
Journal of Interpersonal Violence May 2022Existing literature have decried the propensity to blame victims of rape which ultimately translates worryingly into a tolerance of crimes against persons. Being a...
Existing literature have decried the propensity to blame victims of rape which ultimately translates worryingly into a tolerance of crimes against persons. Being a lopsided and an understudied phenomenon, the present study sets out to explore the role of defensive pessimism and love, and sex perception on rape victim blaming among civil servants in Akwa Ibom State Civil Service Commission, Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional survey research design, 167 civil servants were recruited, comprising 84 males and 83 females, with mean age of 36.29 and standard deviation of 8.53. To measure variables of interest, three instruments: Perception of Love and Sex Scale, Attitudes Towards Rape Victims Scale, and the revised Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire were adopted. To analyze the information obtained from the measuring instruments, descriptive and regression statistics were employed, and results indicated that the less defensive pessimism civil servants reported, the more victim blame they exhibited. Findings also revealed that civil servants who perceived love and sex negatively reported more victim blame. From this study, a new link was formed between variables of interest and the need for adequate mass sensitization on the urgent need of condemning strongly acts of rape and sexual assaults, coupled with advocacy for desensitization on victim blame among "survivors" (rape victims).
Topics: Adult; Crime Victims; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Love; Male; Nigeria; Pessimism; Rape; Social Perception
PubMed: 33043789
DOI: 10.1177/0886260520964036 -
PLoS Computational Biology Dec 2023Positive and negative affective states are respectively associated with optimistic and pessimistic expectations regarding future reward. One mechanism that might...
Positive and negative affective states are respectively associated with optimistic and pessimistic expectations regarding future reward. One mechanism that might underlie these affect-related expectation biases is attention to positive- versus negative-valence features (e.g., attending to the positive reviews of a restaurant versus its expensive price). Here we tested the effects of experimentally induced positive and negative affect on feature-based attention in 120 participants completing a compound-generalization task with eye-tracking. We found that participants' reward expectations for novel compound stimuli were modulated in an affect-congruent way: positive affect induction increased reward expectations for compounds, whereas negative affect induction decreased reward expectations. Computational modelling and eye-tracking analyses each revealed that these effects were driven by affect-congruent changes in participants' allocation of attention to high- versus low-value features of compounds. These results provide mechanistic insight into a process by which affect produces biases in generalized reward expectations.
Topics: Humans; Motivation; Emotions; Pessimism; Generalization, Psychological; Reward
PubMed: 38127874
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011707 -
Psicothema Feb 2018The relationship between defensive pessimism, self-esteem, and achievement goals is a controversial issue. The main contribution of this research is the adoption of a... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
BACKGROUND
The relationship between defensive pessimism, self-esteem, and achievement goals is a controversial issue. The main contribution of this research is the adoption of a person-centered approach to explore the existence of differentiated profiles of university students, which combine self-esteem and defensive pessimism. In addition, we analyze whether these profiles differ in their achievement goals (learning, performance-approach, performance-avoidance, and work-avoidance).
METHOD
1,028 university students took part in the study.
RESULTS
Four student profiles were identified: (a) HSE/MDP (high self-esteem and moderate defensive pessimism); (b) LSE/LDP (low self-esteem and low defensive pessimism); (c) HSE/LDP (high self-esteem and low defensive pessimism); and (d) LSE/HDP (low self-esteem and high defensive pessimism). These four profiles differ significantly in their achievement goals.
CONCLUSIONS
The use of defensive pessimism may involve students with either low or high self-esteem, although the two profiles follow differentiated motivational achievement trajectories.
Topics: Achievement; Adult; Cluster Analysis; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Humans; Male; Pessimism; Self Concept; Spain; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 29363471
DOI: 10.7334/psicothema2017.199 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Sep 2023Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is the process of engaging in negatively valenced and habitual thought patterns. RNT is strongly associated with mental health...
PURPOSE
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is the process of engaging in negatively valenced and habitual thought patterns. RNT is strongly associated with mental health conditions and often affects quality of life. This study explored RNT in older school-age children and adolescents who stutter to quantify the relationship between RNT and self-reported anxiety characteristics. An additional aim was to describe how individual differences in an adolescent's goal when speaking influences the frequency they engage in RNT.
METHOD
Ninety-nine children and adolescents who stutter aged 9-18 years completed a measurement of the frequency/severity of RNT, a screener of anxiety characteristics, and a measure of adverse impact related to stuttering. Children aged 10 years and above also answered questions about their goal when speaking.
RESULTS
Individual differences in RNT significantly predicted Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES) Total Scores more so than a child or adolescent's age. Higher generalized or social anxiety scores were significantly correlated with more frequent RNT and higher OASES Total Scores. Individual differences in goal when speaking (i.e., whether or not to stutter openly) were found to predict RNT. Finally, 22 children and adolescents (22.2%) also screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder and 32 (32.3%) screened positive for social anxiety disorder.
DISCUSSION
These data provide strong evidence that (a) many children and adolescents who stutter engage in RNT; (b) children and adolescents who engage more frequently in RNT or who have higher OASES Total Scores may be at increased risk for more characteristics of generalized or social anxiety; and (c) individual differences in goal when speaking can predict the degree to which an adolescent engages in RNT.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23713296.
Topics: Child; Humans; Adolescent; Aged; Stuttering; Pessimism; Quality of Life; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 37494925
DOI: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00147