BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The association between optimism and pessimism and health outcomes has attracted increasing research interest. To date, the association between these psychological variables and risk of stroke remains unclear. We examined the relationship between pessimism and the 7-year incidence of stroke. METHODS A random sample of 23 216 adults (9480 men, 13 796 women) aged 20 to 54...

We present a flexible analytical framework that incorporates the equilibrium impact of a (possibly state dependent) sentiment for pessimism in continuous time intertemporal asset pricing. State dependent pessimism comes from a state dependent confidence in the reference belief on equity returns dynamics and implies conservative optimal policies precisely in states where such confidence is low. ...

1. Optimism 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Benefits and drawbacks 1.3 Genetics of optimism 1.4 Cultural differences 2. Pessimism 2.1 Definitions 2.2 Catastrophising 2.3 Theories of pessimism 2.4 Benefits and drawbacks 2.5 Genetics of pessimism 3. Optimal balance 3.1 Theories of optimal balance 3.2 Situational factors 3.3 Mindfulness 3.4 Practical exercises 4. Clinical applications 5. History and cultural ...

The combination of less positive and more negative expectations for the future (i.e., lower optimism and higher pessimism) increases risk for disease and early mortality. We tested the possibility that expectancies might influence health outcomes by altering the rate of biological aging, specifically of the immune system (immunosenescence). However, no studies to date have examined associations...

Using data from the 1995 Detroit Area Study (N=1106) this paper finds that black adults report significantly worse self-rated health when compared to whites with similar levels of self-reported morbidity. This relationship, called health pessimism, persists despite statistical controls for age, gender, socioeconomic status, health care access, and health related behaviors. Interpersonal maltrea...

Rademacher averages have been proposed as data-dependent estimates of error in pattern classification and regression problems. While they exploit information about the probability distribution that generates the data, they give pessimistic estimates in many cases. For instance, when zero error is possible, these estimates have a suboptimal convergence rate. We investigate the use of local Radem...

By the end of this century, one in three people on our planet will be living in sub-Saharan Africa (today, the proportion is one in eight). Yet this profound shift in population power carries with it little agreement on what should be done to secure the future health and wellbeing of African peoples. Economists are divided. Olusegun Obasanjo (President of Nigeria, 1999–2007), together with seve...

Pessimism, a general tendency toward negative expectancies, is a risk factor for depression and also heart disease, stroke, and reduced cancer survival. There is evidence that individuals with higher lead exposure have poorer health. However, low socioeconomic status (SES) is linked with higher lead levels and greater pessimism, and it is unclear whether lead influences psychological functionin...