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Frontiers in Psychology 2021Mood and optimism have been demonstrated to influence risk-taking decisions; however, the literature on mood, optimism, and decision-making is mixed and conducted...
Mood and optimism have been demonstrated to influence risk-taking decisions; however, the literature on mood, optimism, and decision-making is mixed and conducted primarily with western samples. This study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining the impact of mood and dispositional optimism on risk-taking and whether these associations differed between undergraduate students from the United States ( = 141) and the People's Republic of China ( = 90). Both samples completed a dispositional optimism questionnaire and an autobiographical mood induction task. They were then tasked with choosing to complete the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices reasoning task on easy, medium, or hard difficulty for hypothetical money. Selecting harder difficulties was interpreted as more risk-taking due to a higher chance of failure. More positive mood and higher dispositional optimism were associated with decreased risk-taking, i.e., selecting easier puzzle difficulties, in the American sample but increased risk-taking decisions, i.e., selecting harder difficulties, in the Chinese sample ( < 0.05 for all). These findings suggest that the effect of mood and optimism on decision-making may differ by nationality and/or culture.
PubMed: 35145455
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.781609 -
Journal of the Academy of... 2022Kidney failure (KF) is associated with impaired physical function, reduced health-related quality of life, increased health care costs, and high rates of cardiovascular... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Kidney failure (KF) is associated with impaired physical function, reduced health-related quality of life, increased health care costs, and high rates of cardiovascular complications and mortality. Among individuals with KF, well-being and related constructs, such as positive affect, optimism, self-efficacy, and resilience, may have both mental and physical health benefits, independent of the effects of negative emotions and affective syndromes. However, there has been minimal review of these characteristics in people with KF.
OBJECTIVE
We conducted a scoping review, using a semi-systematic approach, to summarize the relationships between well-being characteristics and renal health, the potential mechanisms mediating these relationships, and the effects of interventions that promote positive constructs on adherence and health outcomes.
METHODS
We conducted database searches using PubMed and PsycINFO until November 2020. Articles were included if they examined (1) relationships between a well-being construct and health outcome in patients with KF, (2) potential biologic or behavioral mediators, or (3) interventions that target positive psychologic constructs as outcomes or mediators in KF and (4) were written in English or Spanish.
RESULTS
Among patients with KF, well-being constructs are associated with increased health-related quality of life, reduced morbidity and complications, and increased survival. Potential mechanisms mediating these associations include reduced inflammation, improved autonomic and endothelial function, and improved health behavior adherence. Psychologic and psychosocial interventions promoting well-being have primarily focused on improving self-efficacy to promote behavior change, with limited study of interventions to promote positive psychologic constructs in this population.
CONCLUSIONS
Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between well-being constructs and health, specific to KF populations. This could inform the development of needed interventions that harness the promotion of other positive characteristics to improve well-being and health.
Topics: Health Behavior; Humans; Optimism; Quality of Life; Renal Insufficiency; Self Efficacy
PubMed: 35278740
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaclp.2022.02.008 -
Annals of Behavioral Medicine : a... Feb 2020Pain interferes with people's daily lives and often limits the extent to which they can pursue goals and engage in activities that promote well-being. However, people...
BACKGROUND
Pain interferes with people's daily lives and often limits the extent to which they can pursue goals and engage in activities that promote well-being. However, people vary in how much interference they experience at a given level of pain.
PURPOSE
The present study tested how optimism affects and is affected by pain interference and goal-directed activity among older women.
METHODS
Every 3 months for 2 years, community-dwelling middle- and older-age women (N = 199) completed online daily diaries at home for a 7 day period, in which they reported their daily pain, pain interference, and goal-directed activity. Optimism was measured at the start and end of the study. Multilevel models tested the between- and within-person relationships among pain, optimism, and pain interference or goal-directed activity. Linear regression predicted change in optimism over 2 years from pain interference and goal-directed activity.
RESULTS
Pain best predicted pain interference and optimism best predicted goal-directed activity. There were subtle interactions between optimism and pain-predicting interference and goal-directed activity. Accumulated goal-directed activity and pain interference across the study predicted longitudinal changes in optimism, with higher activity and lower pain interference predicting increased optimism over 2 years.
CONCLUSIONS
Optimism may play a protective role in disruptions caused by pain on a day-to-day basis, leading to increased goal-directed activity and possibly decreased pain interference. In turn, less interference and more goal-directed activity feed forward into increased optimism, resulting in a virtuous cycle that enhances optimism and well-being among older women.
Topics: Activities of Daily Living; Aged; Aging; Female; Goals; Humans; Independent Living; Longitudinal Studies; Middle Aged; Optimism; Pain; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 31634392
DOI: 10.1093/abm/kaz040 -
Preventive Medicine Jan 2022Optimism is associated with reduced mortality risk among Whites, but evidence for this relationship is limited among African-Americans, whose life expectancy is shorter...
Optimism is associated with reduced mortality risk among Whites, but evidence for this relationship is limited among African-Americans, whose life expectancy is shorter than Whites. This study examined the association between optimism and mortality rate in African-Americans. Data were from African-American women (n = 2652) and men (n = 1444) in the United States from the Jackson Heart Study. Optimism was measured using the Life Orientation Test-Revised at the baseline period (2000-2004), and mortality data were obtained until 2018. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) of mortality by optimism level, controlling for sociodemographic factors, depressive symptoms, health conditions, and health behaviors. In secondary analyses, we evaluated potential effect modification by sex, age, income, and education. Higher optimism was related to lower mortality rates (HR = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.74, 0.99), controlling for sociodemographic factors and depressive symptoms. After further adjusting for health conditions and health behaviors, associations were slightly attenuated (HR = 0.89; 95%CI = 0.77, 1.02). Stronger associations between optimism and mortality were observed in men, among those with higher income or education, and with age ≤ 55 (all p's for interaction terms <0.06). In summary, optimism was associated with lower mortality rates among African-Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. Effect modification by sociodemographic factors should be further explored in additional research considering optimism and mortality in diverse populations. Positive factors, such as optimism, may provide important health assets that can complement ongoing public health efforts to reduce health disparities, which have traditionally focused primarily on risk factors.
Topics: Black or African American; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Optimism; Proportional Hazards Models; Risk Factors; United States; White People
PubMed: 34863812
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106899 -
Aging & Mental Health Jun 2023The relationship between optimism and cognitive functioning is not fully understood. We examined the association of optimism with risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)...
OBJECTIVES
The relationship between optimism and cognitive functioning is not fully understood. We examined the association of optimism with risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS).
METHODS
Optimism was measured by the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) total score, and optimism and pessimism subscales. A panel of experts adjudicated cognitive endpoints based on annual cognitive assessments. We used cox proportional hazard regression models to examine the association of LOT-R total score and optimism and pessimism sub-scores with MCI/dementia. We also examined the relationship between vascular disease, LOT-R total score, optimism and pessimism, and cognition.
RESULTS
Mean age was 70.5 (SD = 3.9) years. The sample ( = 7249) was 87% white, and 29.8% of participants had < 12 years of education. Total LOT-R score (HR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.94, 0.98, < 0.001) was associated with lower risk of combined MCI or dementia. More pessimism (HR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.11, < 0.0001) was associated with higher risk of MCI or dementia after adjustment for ethnicity, education, vascular disease, and depression. No significant relationships emerged from the optimism subscale.
CONCLUSION
These data suggest that less pessimism, but not more optimism, was associated with a lower risk of MCI and dementia.
Topics: Humans; Female; Aged; Postmenopause; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cognition Disorders; Optimism; Dementia; Vascular Diseases
PubMed: 35694859
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2022.2084710 -
Journal of American College Health : J... 2023To (1) describe the level of hope, optimism, and gratitude in a sample of minority health professional college students. (2) To examine the association between hope,...
UNLABELLED
To (1) describe the level of hope, optimism, and gratitude in a sample of minority health professional college students. (2) To examine the association between hope, optimism, and gratitude with wellbeing domains.
PARTICIPANTS
One hundred and thirty-two ( = 132) college students from the Nursing, Medicine, and Allied Health programs.
METHODS
Cross-sectional survey study assessed wellbeing across the five domains of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.
RESULTS
Mean and Standard Deviation on hope, optimism, and gratitude were 50.2 ± 5.6; 21.7 ± 4.34; and 36.3 ± 5.35, respectively. Hope, optimism, and gratitude were positively associated with domains of wellbeing, controlling for gender and age.
CONCLUSION
Students maintained a positive outlook in life. Hopeful, op6timistic, and grateful students experienced positive emotion, were more engaged in their daily activities, had more supportive relationships, had a better sense of direction in life, and more often accomplished their goals. Interpretations and future directions are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Cross-Sectional Studies; Students; Universities; Optimism; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34344275
DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2021.1922415 -
Nature Human Behaviour Nov 2022Despite over 50 years of messaging about the reality of human-caused climate change, substantial portions of the population remain sceptical. Furthermore, many... (Review)
Review
Despite over 50 years of messaging about the reality of human-caused climate change, substantial portions of the population remain sceptical. Furthermore, many sceptics remain unmoved by standard science communication strategies, such as myth busting and evidence building. To understand this, we examine psychological and structural reasons why climate change misinformation is prevalent. First, we review research on motivated reasoning: how interpretations of climate science are shaped by vested interests and ideologies. Second, we examine climate scepticism as a form of political followership. Third, we examine infrastructures of disinformation: the funding, lobbying and political operatives that lend climate scepticism its power. Guiding this Review are two principles: (1) to understand scepticism, one must account for the interplay between individual psychologies and structural forces; and (2) global data are required to understand this global problem. In the spirit of optimism, we finish by describing six strategies for reducing the destructive influence of climate scepticism.
Topics: Humans; Climate Change; Communication; Disinformation; Optimism; Problem Solving
PubMed: 36385174
DOI: 10.1038/s41562-022-01463-y -
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2022Focusing on the family system, this study simultaneously examined the effects of the parental factor, family functioning, and individual factor on youth psychological...
Focusing on the family system, this study simultaneously examined the effects of the parental factor, family functioning, and individual factor on youth psychological well-being. Overall, 332 youths and their parents were involved in this research and responded to an online questionnaire measuring parental optimism, family cohesion, youth optimism, and youth psychological well-being. The results suggested that (1) parental optimism was positively related to youth psychological well-being; (2) both family cohesion and youth optimism mediated the connection between parental optimism and youth psychological well-being; and (3) the link between parental optimism and youth psychological well-being was mediated by family cohesion and youth optimism in sequence. The present study reveals the underlying mechanism of how to improve youth psychological well-being from within the family system.
PubMed: 36292279
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10101832 -
PloS One 2023Noting concerns about the non-clinical efficacy of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), specifically the instrument's ability to discriminate between lower levels of... (Review)
Review
Noting concerns about the non-clinical efficacy of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), specifically the instrument's ability to discriminate between lower levels of hopelessness, this paper describes the development of the General Hopelessness Scale (GHS) for use with general samples. Following a literature review an item pool assessing the breadth of the hopelessness construct domain was created. This was then placed in survey form and assessed within two independent studies. Study 1 (N = 305, 172 women, 133 men, Mage = 28.68) explored factorial structure, item performance, and convergent validity of the GHS in relation to standardised measures of self-esteem and trait hopelessness. In Study 2 (N = 326, 224 women, 102 men, Mage = 26.52), scrutiny of the GHS occurred using confirmatory factor analysis and invariance tests, alongside item performance and convergent validity analyses relative to measures of affect, optimism, and hope. Factor analysis (using minimum average partial correlations and exploratory factor analysis) within Study 1 revealed the existence of four dimensions (Negative Expectations, Hope, Social Comparison, and Futility), which met Rasch model assumptions (i.e., good item/person fit and item/person reliability). Further psychometric assessment within Study 2 found satisfactory model fit and gender invariance. Convergent validity testing revealed moderate to large associations between the GHS and theoretically relevant variables (self-esteem, trait hopelessness, affect, optimism, and hope) across Study 1 and 2. Further examination of performance (reliability and ceiling and floor effects) within Study 1 and 2 demonstrated that the GHS was a satisfactory measure in non-clinical settings. Additionally, unlike the BHS, the GHS does not assume that administrators are trained professionals capable of advising on appropriate interventions.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Reproducibility of Results; Psychometrics; Affect; Surveys and Questionnaires; Optimism
PubMed: 37363918
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287016 -
Cell Oct 2020The pandemic has impacted every scientist differently. Many negative impacts are frequently discussed. Here we highlight unexpected positives that we have found and hope...
The pandemic has impacted every scientist differently. Many negative impacts are frequently discussed. Here we highlight unexpected positives that we have found and hope will persist: improved access to experts; deeper and broader human engagement among colleagues, collaborators, and competitors; and significant democratization of research.
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Optimism; Pandemics; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 33007260
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.027