The Developmental Origins and Future Implications of Dispositional Optimism in the Transition to Adulthood

Gloomy and out of control? Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on momentary optimism in daily live of adolescents

In the global COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents are regarded as especially burdened due to school closures and leisure activities being banned, often reducing peer contacts to zero. Experiencing restrictions while being uninvolved in decision-making processes left them with little control over their daily lives. Meanwhile, research highlights that optimism can act as a buffer against the impact of daily hassles and is considered an important resource for mental health. To understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for adolescents' lives, this study examined how momentary perceived control and perceived personal and societal consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic relate to momentary optimism. Using experience-sampling data from N = 242 (M age = 15.89; 86% female) adolescents assessed during the second pandemic wave in Germany, multilevel modeling revealed positive associations between adolescents' momentary perceived control and their momentary optimism at both the within- and between-person level. Additionally, perceived consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic showed specific associations with momentary optimism: Whereas perceived societal consequences were directly related to lower momentary optimism, perceived personal consequences strengthened the relationship between momentary perceived control and optimism. These findings highlight the role of perceived control as an important resource for optimism both as a general tendency and within specific situations in daily life. This way, our results may shed light on how to support adolescent optimism during states of emergency, such as a worldwide pandemic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-03313-6.

Association between the dispositional optimism and depression in young people: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The objective of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of publications that reported the association between dispositional optimism and depression during youth, analyzing if the strength of this relationship varied according to potential factors. Systematic searches were carried out in APA PsycNet, Virtual Health Library, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed Central, and Scopus to collect English, Portuguese, or Spanish studies from 2009 onwards. Two reviewers selected the eligible articles, assessed the quality of each study, and extracted the data. For the synthesis of the results, a meta-analytic approach was used. We identified 4077 publications in the initial searches and 22 in the supplementary searches, from which 31 studies remained for analysis once the eligibility criteria were applied. The results showed a statistically significant negative association between dispositional optimism and depression in the young population, age being a factor that modifies the effect measure between these variables. This meta-analysis provides a consistent and robust synthesis on the interaction effect between dispositional optimism and depression in the young population. Based on these findings, early clinical admissions may effectively improve optimistic tendencies in young people, which could help them prevent depressive symptoms or episodes.

Positive psychological well‐being and cardiovascular disease: Exploring mechanistic and developmental pathways

Empirical research regarding the health benefits of positive psychological well‐being (e.g., positive emotions, life satisfaction, purpose in life, and optimism) has flourished in recent years, particularly with regard to cardiovascular disease. This paper reviews the state of evidence for well‐being's association with cardiovascular disease in both healthy individuals and those diagnosed with a disease. Prospective studies consistently indicate well‐being reduces cardiovascular events in healthy and, to a lesser extent, patient populations. Potential pathways that link well‐being with cardiovascular disease are discussed (including health behaviors, physiological processes, and stress buffering), although the existing evidence is mostly cross‐sectional which limits conclusions about directionality. Issues related to development across the lifespan are considered and childhood is identified as a crucial period for establishing healthy cardiovascular trajectories. Outstanding questions for future research are provided with recommendations to focus on well‐powered and prospective study designs with rigorous assessment of both well‐being and cardiovascular‐related outcomes.

Role of optimism in adolescent mental health: a protocol for a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is a critical period of human development, where adaptive or maladaptive experiences can happen. These experiences are associated with psychological, social, biological and health factors. Previous empirical evidence suggests that mental health is associated with individual assets and positive states, whose presence may become a factor of protection and resistance to mental disorders. Among these, optimism could play a fundamental role in sustaining physical and mental well-being and in dealing with threats potentially harmful to health. Given the rise of research on optimism and its importance in the various health outcomes, it is necessary to initiate processes of compilation and synthesis of this evidence to facilitate the understanding of the importance of this variable on the mental health of adolescents.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The included studies will be experimental, observational, cross-sectional and longitudinal focussed on the role of optimism on mental health in adolescents, regardless of whether they belong to clinical or non-clinical populations. This systematic review protocol will be carried out following the Cochrane Manual for systematic reviews and will follow the statement on systematic reviews and meta-analysis of PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols). Searches will run from October 2019 to March 2020, and will be carried out from the following electronic databases: APA PsycNet, BVS (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde), Web of Science, PubMed Central and Scopus. Two reviewers will obtain the eligible articles, published from January 2009 onward, to assess the quality of each study and extract the data. For the presentation of the results, a narrative and quantitative synthesis will be carried out that groups the data found.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The approval of an ethics committee is not required for a systematic review protocol. The results will be presented at congresses in social sciences and psychology and will be published in a peer-reviewed social or health science journal.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

PROSPERO CRD42019142616.