The Glass is Half Full and Half Empty: A population-representative twin study testing if Optimism and Pessimism are distinct systems

The bidirectional relationships of optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms in adulthood - A 15-year follow-up study from Northern Finland Birth Cohorts

BACKGROUND

Low optimism and high pessimism have predicted depressive symptoms in several studies, but the associations in the other direction, from depressive symptoms to future optimism and pessimism, have been unexplored. We examined bidirectional associations of optimism and pessimism with depressive symptoms in adulthood.

METHODS

A population-based sample of 4011 Finnish adults (55 % women) was analyzed with a 15-year prospective follow-up period from age 31 to age 46. Optimism and pessimism were measured with the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and depressive symptoms were measured with the Symptom Checklist-25. Temporal associations were investigated with cross-lagged panel models.

RESULTS

According to the model fit indices (RMSEA < 0.04, CFI ≥ 0.97) optimism and pessimism had bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms: optimism predicted lower depressive symptoms (β = -0.09, p < .001), and depressive symptoms predicted lower optimism (β = -0.10, p < .001) in the follow-up. Also, pessimism predicted higher depressive symptoms (β = 0.08, p < .001), and depressive symptoms predicted higher pessimism (β = 0.09, p < .001) in the follow-up. In the participants with clinically high depressive symptoms at age 31, the predictive associations from optimism and pessimism to depressive symptoms remained, but associations in the other direction were attenuated.

LIMITATIONS

The follow-up study included only two time points with a 15-year time gap, which does not consider the possible fluctuation in the study variables between the measured times.

CONCLUSION

Dispositional optimism and pessimism may have bidirectional relationships with depressive symptoms in adulthood when the baseline depressive symptoms are below the clinical level.

Can a Pessimistic Outlook Moderate the Victimization-Delinquency Relationship?

This study was designed to shed light on the relationship between victimization and offending, a pattern commonly known as the victim-offender overlap, by exploring whether victimization and pessimism toward the future interact in association with self-reported delinquency. This study was performed on 1,300 (444 males, 645 females, and 211 sex not identified) members of the 2018 High School Senior Monitoring the Future cross-sectional study. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using a maximum likelihood estimator and bias-corrected bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals. The analysis revealed that victimization and the victimization × pessimism interaction correlated significantly with delinquency, after controlling for a series of demographic, family, and peer factors. These results indicate that pessimism toward the future may exacerbate the already strong relationship known to exist between victimization and delinquency.

Association of pessimism with cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality

Poor psychological health is associated with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, cardiac syndrome X, coronary microcirculatory dysfunction, peripheral artery disease, or spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Data regarding pessimism, cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and mortality and all-cause mortality remained inconclusive. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to provide an overview of the association between pessimism, CVD outcomes and mortality. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted from inception through July 2022 for studies evaluating pessimism and adverse outcomes. A total of 17 studies published between 1966 and July 2022 met our inclusion criteria, for a total of 232,533 individuals. Pooled hazard ratios were calculated in random-effects meta-analyses. Based on pooled analysis of adjusted HRs, pessimism was associated with adjusted HR of 1.13 (95% CI 1.07-1.19) for all-cause mortality with minimal heterogeneity (I² = 28.5%). Based on pooled analysis of adjusted HRs, pessimism was associated with adjusted HR of 1.30 (95% CI 0.43-3.95) for CHD mortality, adjusted HR of 1.41 (95% CI 1.05-1.91) for CVD mortality, and adjusted HR of 1.43 (95% CI 0.64-3.16) for stroke. In conclusion, pessimism seems to be significantly associated with a higher risk for and poorer outcomes from CVD events than optimistic styles. There are genetic and other bases for these life approaches, but behavioral, cognitive and meditative interventions can modify patients' level of pessimism, hopefully leading to better medical outcomes. Testing this theory would yield highly useful and practical data for clinical care.

Differential Effects of Optimism and Pessimism on Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Roles of Reappraisal and Acceptance

Prior research has found the differential strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting physical health. However, whether similar findings would be obtained in predicting subjective well-being and the possible underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study examined the relative strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction and depression, and further explored the possible mediating mechanisms from the perspective of emotion regulation. A sample of 2672 adolescents (M_age = 13.54 years, SD = 1.04; 55.60% boys) completed a survey assessing optimism and pessimism, the habitual use of reappraisal and acceptance strategies, life satisfaction, and depression. The results from dominance analysis revealed that the presence of optimism was more powerful than the absence of pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction, while the absence of pessimism was more powerful than the presence of optimism in predicting adolescent depression. Moreover, mediation models showed that reappraisal and acceptance mediated both the link between optimism and life satisfaction and the link between pessimism and depression. These findings suggest possible avenues for intervening in different aspects of adolescent subjective well-being.

Who looks on the bright side? Optimistic and pessimistic perceptual-response reflexes over American adulthood

Research suggests that the way individuals are oriented towards the future is deeply embedded in their psychology, shaping how they perceive and react to opportunities and threats, even at unconscious levels. We argue that exposures to opportunities and threats over the life course can shape future orientation at a deep level, and that word-valence effects to survey questions indicate optimistic and pessimistic "perceptual-response reflexes" that are manifestations of unconscious dispositions. Using data collected over 25 years in the Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) study we analyze variation in word-valence effects by age, birth cohort, gender, and race. The broad adult age-range of the sample and the length of follow-up permits the examination of birth cohorts ranging from the "First Children of the 20th Century" (born before 1917) to "Baby Boomers" (born 1947-1962). We find notable differences in age-graded trends across two overarching birth cohort groups: those who reached high school age before the Supreme Court's landmark Brown vs Board of Education decision in 1954 (i.e., born before 1932) and after (i.e., born in 1932 and later). Age-related trends in optimistic perceptual response diverge notably for women versus men, and for Black versus White Americans. Trends in pessimistic perceptual response differ from trends in optimistic response. For example, in early adulthood Black Americans score higher on both optimistic and pessimistic response patterns than White Americans. Birth-cohort differences in both outcomes vary by gender and race. Those differences are interpreted in terms of changes in political, demographic, and sociocultural contexts.

Genetic Influences on the Covariance and Genetic Correlations in a Bivariate Twin Model: An Application to Well-Being

The distinction between genetic influences on the covariance (or bivariate heritability) and genetic correlations in bivariate twin models is often not well-understood or only one is reported while the results show distinctive information about the relation between traits. We applied bivariate twin models in a large sample of adolescent twins, to disentangle the association between well-being (WB) and four complex traits (optimism, anxious-depressed symptoms (AD), aggressive behaviour (AGG), and educational achievement (EA)). Optimism and AD showed respectively a strong positive and negative phenotypic correlation with WB, the negative correlation of WB and AGG is lower and the correlation with EA is nearly zero. All four traits showed a large genetic contribution to the covariance with well-being. The genetic correlations of well-being with optimism and AD are strong and smaller for AGG and EA. We used the results of the models to explain what information is retrieved based on the bivariate heritability versus the genetic correlations and the (clinical) implications.

Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective

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^–5 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.

Mediating Effect of Positive Psychological Strength and Study Skills on Examination Anxiety among Nigerian College Students

Examination plays a vital role in the present contemporary educational setting as well as serving as an indicator and yardstick to place students in relation to their examination scores after they undergo the examination. However, students at different educational levels experience examination anxiety, which can interfere with making right decisions either before or during examinations and is considered to be a phenomenon associated with low examination scores. Therefore, the present research study was aimed at determining the mediating effect of positive psychological strengths between study skills and examination anxiety among Nigerian college students. The study employed survey research on 315 Nigerian college students. The result of the path analysis shows that study skills (SSK) have a significant and direct relationship on examination anxiety. The mediation between positive psychological strength (PPS) and examination anxiety is identified as being effective and significant. Therefore, positive psychological strength (PPS) acts as an effective mediator towards examination anxiety.

Dispositional optimism and physical health: A long look back, a quick look forward

Dispositional optimism is the generalized, relatively stable tendency to expect good outcomes across important life domains. This article provides a representative review of 30 years of research on dispositional optimism and physical well-being. Assessment of optimism is described, along with data regarding its stability. A review of the research linking optimism and physical health is then presented. Included in the review are initial studies suggesting that optimism and physical well-being might be linked as well as more recent, larger scale epidemiological studies that make the point more emphatically. Also considered are potential pathways-behavioral, biological, and social-that might explain these associations. The article concludes with a brief look to the future, describing several issues and questions that still need to be answered. These questions include the relationship of optimism and pessimism to each other (and the implications of that relationship for physical well-being), the origins of optimism and pessimism, and interventions that might be implemented to reduce the negative impact of a pessimistic outlook. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of family income and medical insurance coverage on health-related quality of life and optimism in cancer patients at a Hong Kong private hospital: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) and optimism are important health domains that express the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of cancer patients. Previous studies have explored income and medical insurance coverage as predictors of their well-being with the aim to better understand their financial needs. The primary objective of this study was to examine the associations in the private health sector in Hong Kong.

METHODS

The study was conducted cross-sectionally with a structured questionnaire in traditional Chinese. HRQL was assessed with the RAND 12-item Health Survey, and optimism was assessed with the Life Orientation Test. The two primary predictors were family income and medical insurance coverage. The associations were tested using logistic regression, controlling for other sociodemographic and clinical covariates.

RESULTS

A total of 428 questionnaires were used in the regression model. After adjusting for other covariates, no significant association was observed with family income as the predictor. Medical insurance coverage was a significant and positive predictor of optimism with odds ratio of 2.30 and 95% confidence interval of 1.30 to 4.05 for the group with the most coverage with little to no coverage as the reference group.

CONCLUSIONS

The significant association between medical insurance coverage and optimism might be an indication that the medical cost was a financial burden to many cancer patients in Hong Kong. In addition to their medical needs, cancer support organization and health care practitioners must be able to recognize and assist with the financial needs of the cancer patients.

Physical and Cultural Inheritance Enhance Agency, but What are the Origins of this Concern to Establish a Legacy? A Nationally-Representative Twin Study of Erikson's Concept of Generativity

Generativity-showing concern to establish and guide future generations-has been argued to be a biological adaptation central to cumulative culture and survival, but also, in turn, to be a cultural adaptation dependent on norms. From the perspective of human agency, concern for the future has played a key role in raising agency for generations that follow by creating infrastructure and cultural inheritance. Here, in a population-representative sample of 756 twin-pairs, we present the first test of the genetic and environmental structure of generativity using the Loyola Generativity Scale (short). Genetic analysis of scale sum-scores revealed that shared environmental effects were comparable in magnitude or exceeded effects estimated for genetic differences (A = 0.30 CI95 [- 0.01, 0.61], C = 0.41 [0.25, 0.56], E = 0.86 [0.79, 0.93]). At the item level, a well-fitting genetically-informed model suggested 3 factors influencing generativity via a common-pathway structure. The first was tentatively characterized as reflecting a heritable general concern for the future. The second reflected being a valued source of advice and assistance. The third factor showed only unique environment effects and had as its strongest indicator having had a good influence on the lives of others. Replicability of this structure should be tested in the full version of the scale. Work is needed also to validate influences of generativity on vocations such as teaching and on philanthropic activity improving life for subsequent generations.

Multicomponent positive psychology intervention for health promotion of Brazilian retirees: a quasi-experimental study

This study evaluated the effects and impact of a multicomponent positive psychology program for health promotion of retirees. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was used, and the baseline and end of intervention evaluations were analyzed. The intervention consisted of six weekly group sessions for 2 h each. Eighty-eight retirees (females = 72) aged 49-86 (M = 65.66, SD = 7.53) from South Brazil took part in the study, 54 (females = 48) in the experimental group (M = 66.37 years old, SD = 7.42), and 34 (females = 24) waitlist controls (M = 64.53 years old, SD = 7.68). The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the scales: Interpersonal Reactivity Index; 12-item General Health Questionnaire; Life Orientation Test-Revised;14-item Perceived Stress Scale; Resilience Scale; and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Mixed factorial ANOVA models revealed significant decrease in depression and anxiety symptoms and perceived stress levels, whereas improvement in life satisfaction and resilience was detected in the experimental group at the end of the program. No main effect was found for empathy and optimism. Interaction effects yielded significant difference between groups for measures of empathy, optimism, depression, and anxiety symptoms after the program. There was no significant interaction effect for the other outcome variables. The usefulness and applicability of this model of intervention to aid future health practices and policies are discussed. Contextual issues in the fields of health promotion and disease prevention in Brazil are also problematized.

Associations of intelligence across the life course with optimism and pessimism in older age

Maintaining good cognitive function is important for successful aging, and it has been suggested recently that having and optimistic outlook may also be valuable. However few have studied the relationship between cognitive ability and dispositional optimism and pessimism in older age. It is unclear whether associations found previously between cognitive ability and pessimism in older age, are evident across the life course, and are consistent at different points in older age. In the present study we examined associations between dispositional optimism and pessimism measured in the eighth and ninth decade of life and childhood and older age cognitive ability, and lifetime change in cognitive ability. Participants were two independent narrow-age samples of older individuals with mean ages about 73 (n = 847) and 87 (n = 220) years from the Lothian Birth Cohorts of 1936 (LBC1936) and 1921 (LBC1921), respectively. Higher cognitive ability in childhood and older-age, and healthier cognitive change across the lifetime were associated with lower pessimism in older age: age-11 IQ (LBC1936: β = - 0.17, p < 0.001; LBC1921: β = - 0.29, p = 0.001), older-age IQ (LBC1936: β = - 0.18, p < 0.001; LBC1921: β = - 0.27, p < 0.001), cognitive change (LBC1936: β = - 0.06, p < 0.04; LBC1921: β = - 0.15, p = 0.05). Cognitive ability was not significantly associated with optimism in bivariate analyses, and after adjustment for covariates had only small associations with optimism and only in the LBC1936. The results are consistent with differential associations between cognitive functions and optimism and pessimism, and indicate that their associations with cognitive ability are similar in the eighth and ninth decades of life.

Seeing light at the end of the tunnel: Positive prospective mental imagery and optimism in depression

Optimism is associated with positive outcomes across many health domains, from cardiovascular disease to depression. However, we know little about cognitive processes underlying optimism in psychopathology. The present study tested whether the ability to vividly imagine positive events in one's future was associated with dispositional optimism in a sample of depressed adults. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted, using baseline (all participants, N=150) and follow-up data (participants in the control condition only, N=63) from a clinical trial (Blackwell et al., 2015). Vividness of positive prospective imagery, assessed on a laboratory-administered task at baseline, was significantly associated with both current optimism levels at baseline and future (seven months later) optimism levels, including when controlling for potential confounds. Even when depressed, those individuals able to envision a brighter future were more optimistic, and regained optimism more quickly over time, than those less able to do so at baseline. Strategies to increase the vividness of positive prospective imagery may aid development of mental health interventions to boost optimism.