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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 -
Annals of Neurology May 2023The association between brain injury after cardiac arrest and poor survival outcomes has led to longstanding pessimism. However, the publicly witnessed cardiac arrest,... (Review)
Review
The association between brain injury after cardiac arrest and poor survival outcomes has led to longstanding pessimism. However, the publicly witnessed cardiac arrest, resuscitation, and acute management of Mr. Damar Hamlin and his favorable neurologic recovery provides some optimism. Mr. Hamlin's case highlights the neurologic advances of the last 2 decades and presents the opportunity to improve outcomes for all cardiac arrest patients in key areas: (1) effectively implementing the American Heart Association "Chain of Survival" to prevent initial brain injury and promote neuroprotection; (2) revisiting the process of neurologic prognostication and re-defining the brain recovery during the early periods, and (3) incorporating neurorehabilitation into existing cardiac rehabilitation models to support holistic recovery. ANN NEUROL 2023;93:871-876.
Topics: Humans; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation; Heart Arrest; Brain Injuries; Brain; Registries
PubMed: 36843142
DOI: 10.1002/ana.26619 -
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 -
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 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023Cardiovascular reactivity refers to changes in blood pressure and heart rate in response to internal or external stimuli. Previous research has shown that excessively...
INTRODUCTION
Cardiovascular reactivity refers to changes in blood pressure and heart rate in response to internal or external stimuli. Previous research has shown that excessively high and low cardiovascular reactivity are associated with an increased risk of cardiac problems. Dispositional optimism has been associated with numerous health benefits, including better cardiovascular responses to stressors, and reduced mortality risk. Conversely, pessimism has been associated with negative health outcomes and worse cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Mood, comprising positive and negative affect, can significantly impact psychological adjustment and physical health. Therefore, it is important to consider mood as a potential confounding variable in the link between optimism and cardiovascular reactivity. The study hypothesized that optimism and pessimism would still influence cardiovascular reactivity even when mood variables were controlled for.
METHODS
A within-subjects correlational design with 107 young adult participants was used. Sociodemographic and clinical questionnaires were administered to collect information on participants' characteristics. The Dispositional Optimism Scale (LOT-R) and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were used to assess participants' levels of optimism, pessimism, and mood. Measures of cardiovascular reactivity, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR), were taken during a stressor task (PASAT).
RESULTS
There is a moderate positive correlation between dispositional optimism and positive affect, while pessimism demonstrated a moderate positive association with negative affect. Linear regression analyses were conducted, controlling baseline reactivity variables, gender, and body mass index. The results showed that pessimism had a significant negative effect on SBP reactivity, suggesting that higher levels of pessimism decreased SBP response. Optimism had a significant positive effect on DBP reactivity, while pessimism had a significant negative effect.
DISCUSSION
Overall, these results suggest that dispositional optimism and pessimism are related to cardiovascular reactivity, even after controlling for positive and negative affect. Pessimism was associated with lower SBP reactivity, while both optimism and pessimism influenced DBP reactivity. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that optimism enables more effective stress management during challenging events, whereas pessimism can serve as a risk factor, heightening the likelihood of experiencing future cardiac issued caused by blunted cardiovascular reactivity.
PubMed: 37908813
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1233900 -
Psychiatria Danubina 2022The COVID-19 pandemic affects all aspects of the population including children, elderly, and vulnerable people. The aim of this study is to examine, for the first time,...
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic affects all aspects of the population including children, elderly, and vulnerable people. The aim of this study is to examine, for the first time, the relationship optimism-pessimism levels of mothers and anxiety level of children in turkey during COVID-19 pandemic.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Optimism-Pessimism Scale and Preschool Anxiety Scale were used to collect data from a representative sample of 33,362 mothers with children aged 3-6 years.
RESULTS
Of the parents, 53% of them reported that their children were slightly anxious due to COVID-19 pandemic. Lower optimism and higher pessimism were significantly related with higher levels of children's anxiety including social, generalized, separation, and overall anxiety as well as obvious fear. Group comparison analysis indicated that very anxious children reported the highest level of different types of anxiety and fear compared to less anxious and not at all anxious children.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that mental health of children has been adversely affected during the pandemic and this has important implications for designing and implementing interventions aimed at reducing anxiety levels of children and determining protective and risk factors associated with anxiety in the face of adversity.
Topics: Aged; Anxiety; COVID-19; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Optimism; Pandemics; Pessimism
PubMed: 35772159
DOI: 10.24869/psyd.2022.364 -
PloS One 2020The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire. A sample of undergraduate students (N = 539) was measured on...
The aim of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire. A sample of undergraduate students (N = 539) was measured on defensive pessimism using the Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire (DPQ), optimism and pessimism using the Life Orientation Test (LOT), positive and negative affect using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and anxiety using the trait subscale of the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory. A Spanish version of the DPQ (DPQ-SV) is presented. Exploratory and Robust Confirmatory Factor Analysis had a bi-dimensional structure (Reflectivity and Negative Expectation). Omega coefficient showed a high internal consistency and the temporal stability was high in each dimension. Both DPQ-SV subscales (Negative Expectation and Reflectivity) showed adequate convergence with LOT-optimism and LOT-pessimism. Reflectivity showed adequate criterion validity with trait-anxiety and negative affect, but inadequate criterion validity with positive affect. Negative Expectation showed excellent criterion validity with trait-anxiety and negative affect and good criterion validity with positive affect. Finally, mediation analysis showed that Negative Expectation had a significant indirect mediating effect between trait-anxiety and negative affect. Reflectivity had a significant indirect mediating effect between trait-anxiety and negative and positive affect. Analysis of the psychometric properties of the DPQ-SV subscale scores showed that it is a two factor adequate measurement tool for its use in this type of samples.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Female; Humans; Male; Personality Inventory; Pessimism; Psychometrics; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 32302314
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229695 -
Psychiatry Research. Neuroimaging Oct 2021Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process characterised by intrusive, repetitive, and difficult-to-disengage-from negative thoughts. Heightened RNT... (Review)
Review
Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a cognitive process characterised by intrusive, repetitive, and difficult-to-disengage-from negative thoughts. Heightened RNT levels are prevalent across clinical disorders and have been associated with ill-health (e.g. cardiovascular disease), even at lower, non-clinical levels. Identifying the neuroanatomical correlates of RNT could help characterise structural alterations that transcend diagnostic boundaries and further understanding of the pathogenesis of clinical disorders. We therefore conducted a systematic review to investigate associations between RNT and brain morphology. Following title/abstract and full-text screening, 24 studies were included. We found evidence that RNT severity is associated with grey and white matter volumes/microstructure, particularly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and superior longitudinal fasciculus, regions heavily implicated in cognitive control, and emotional processing and regulation. However, inconsistent associations, potentially due to the heterogeneity of included studies (e.g. methodological differences, type of RNT assessed), preclude specific conclusions being reached regarding any one region's association with RNT. Further, given the defuse nature of thoughts, it may be that RNT is associated with distributed brain regions operating within large-scale networks, rather than with a single structure. High quality longitudinal studies, investigating structural networks, are required to confirm the neuroanatomical basis of RNT and elucidate the direction of relationships.
Topics: Brain; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Pessimism; Prefrontal Cortex; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34390952
DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111353 -
Politics and the Life Sciences : the... Nov 2023While there have always been those in the American public who mistrust science and scientists' views of the world, they have tended to be a minority of the larger...
While there have always been those in the American public who mistrust science and scientists' views of the world, they have tended to be a minority of the larger public. Recent COVID-19 related events indicate that could be changing for some key groups. What might explain the present state of mistrust of science within an important component of the American public? In this study, we delve deeply into this question and examine what citizens today believe about science and technology and why, focusing on core theories of trust, risk concern, and political values and on the important role of science optimism and pessimism orientations. Using national public survey data, we examine the correlates of science optimism and pessimism and test the efficacy of this construct as drivers of biotechnology policy. We find that science optimism and pessimism are empirically useful constructs and that they are important predictors of biotechnology policy choices.
Topics: Humans; Biotechnology; Optimism; Pessimism; Policy; Trust; United States
PubMed: 37987570
DOI: 10.1017/pls.2023.9