Journal
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW
Volume 30, Issue 7, Pages 879-889Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.01.006
Keywords
Optimism; Subjective well-being; Coping; Health; Personality
Categories
Funding
- NCI NIH HHS [R01 CA064710-11, R01 CA064710, CA64710] Funding Source: Medline
- NHLBI NIH HHS [P50 HL065111-01, HL076852, HL076858, HL65112, P50 HL065112-029003, HL65111, P50 HL065111, R24 HL076858, R24 HL076858-01, P50 HL065112, R24 HL076852] Funding Source: Medline
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Optimism is an individual difference variable that reflects the extent to which people hold generalized favorable expectancies for their future. Higher levels of optimism have been related prospectively to better subjective well-being in times of adversity or difficulty (i.e., controlling for previous well-being). Consistent with such findings, optimism has been linked to higher levels of engagement coping and lower levels of avoidance, or disengagement, coping. There is evidence that optimism is associated with taking proactive steps to protect one's health, whereas pessimism is associated with health-damaging behaviors. Consistent with such findings, optimism is also related to indicators of better physical health. The energetic, task-focused approach that optimists take to goals also relates to benefits in the socioeconomic world. Some evidence suggests that optimism relates to more persistence in educational efforts and to higher later income. Optimists also appear to fare better than pessimists in relationships. Although there are instances in which optimism fails to convey an advantage, and instances in which it may convey a disadvantage, those instances are relatively rare. In sum, the behavioral patterns of optimists appear to provide models of living for others to learn from. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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