OBJECTIVE Fear of pain and pain catastrophizing are prominent risk factors for pediatric chronic pain-related maladjustment. Although resilience has largely been ignored in the pediatric pain literature, prior research suggests that optimism might benefit youth and can be learned. We applied an adult chronic pain risk-resilience model to examine the interplay of risk factors and optimism on fun...

Using the interpersonal perspective, we examined social correlates of dispositional optimism. In Study 1, optimism and pessimism were associated with warm-dominant and hostile-submissive interpersonal styles, respectively, across four samples, and had expected associations with social support and interpersonal stressors. In 300 married couples, Study 2 replicated these findings regarding interp...

Socioeconomic status is associated with health disparities, but underlying psychosocial mechanisms have not been fully identified. Dispositional optimism may be a psychosocial process linking socioeconomic status with health. We hypothesized that lower optimism would be associated with greater social disadvantage and poorer social mobility. We also investigated whether life satisfaction and pos...

This study reports about the construction of a bidimensional measure of optimism and pessimism (defined as positive and negative outcome expectancies), called the Japanese Optimism and Pessimism Scale (J-OPS), and examines its reliability and validity. The participants were college students. The results revealed the following: (a) the J-OPS had sufficient reliability and validity, (b) optimism ...

BACKGROUND Understanding the relationships between social and psychological determinants of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a critical step in developing effective screening tools and targeted interventions for psychosocial care. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between dispositional optimism and HRQOL in newly diagnosed adult cancer patients. ME...

Purpose. To investigate the level of nutrition knowledge and attitude of adolescent male and female swimmers training competitively in Trinidad and Tobago. Methodology. A self-administered questionnaire, which consisted of 21 nutrition knowledge and 11 attitude statements, was utilized to assess the level of nutrition knowledge and attitude of adolescent swimmers. For the assessment of nutritio...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among goal setting, employee engagement, workplace optimism, and individual performance constructs. Goal setting is hypothesized as positively impacting employee engagement, employee engagement as positively impacting workplace optimism, and workplace optimism as positively impacting individual performance. Design/methodolo...

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to explore the linkage between nurses' levels of optimism and performance outcomes. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The study sample consisted of 78 nurses in all areas of a large healthcare facility (hospital) in the Midwestern United States. The participants completed surveys to determine their current state of optimism. Supervisory performance appraisal dat...

Although people generally appear optimistic about the future, they shift from optimism under certain circumstances. Drawing from a recent review of the literature, we describe how both optimism and shifts from optimism serve the common goal of preparedness, which includes a readiness to deal with setbacks and a readiness to take advantage of opportunities. Shifts from optimism occur in response...