Optimism and well-being: a prospective multi-method and multi-dimensional examination of optimism as a resilience factor following the occurrence of stressful life events

ABSTRACT

Optimism has been conceptualised variously as positive expectations (PE) for the future , optimistic attributions , illusion of control , and self-enhancing biases. Relatively little research has examined these multiple dimensions of optimism in relation to psychological and physical health. The current study assessed the multi-dimensional nature of optimism within a prospective vulnerability-stress framework. Initial principal component analyses revealed the following dimensions: PEs, Inferential Style (IS), Sense of Invulnerability (SI), and Overconfidence (O). Prospective follow-up analyses demonstrated that PE was associated with fewer depressive episodes and moderated the effect of stressful life events on depressive symptoms. SI also moderated the effect of life stress on anxiety symptoms. Generally, our findings indicated that optimism is a multifaceted construct and not all forms of optimism have the same effects on well-being. Specifically, our findings indicted that PE may be the most relevant to depression, whereas SI may be the most relevant to anxiety.

KEYWORDS:

• Optimism
• depression
• anxiety
• stressful life events
• resilience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 We report nearly all of the variables included in this study's original data collection. The only other data that were collected but are not reported were a measure of coping styles and additional measures of anxiety and depression symptoms. No participants’ data were excluded. Our sample size was determined by selecting an ample number of participants for factor analysis (>300; Comfrey & Lee, 1992).

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants [MH79369 and MH101168] to Lauren B. Alloy.