Optimism, pessimism, and physical health among youth: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: High levels of optimism (and low levels of pessimism) are associated with improved physical health in adults. However, relatively less is known about these relations in youth. The present study aimed to review the literature investigating optimism, pessimism, and physical health in children and adolescents from populations with and without health conditions. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review up until February 2024. Studies were included if they sampled youth (average age ≤18 years) and treated optimism or pessimism as predictors of health behaviors or outcomes. Data on study and sample characteristics, health outcome, optimism construct, and findings were extracted from eligible papers and results were synthesized. RESULTS: Sixty studies were retained. Most studies were conducted in North America, with adolescents, and used cross-sectional designs and self-reported measures of health. Measures of optimism and pessimism differed across studies. Roughly one-third of studies sampled medical populations. Health categories included substance use, diet and physical activity, sexual health practices, medical adherence, other health behaviors, cardiometabolic health, subjective health/health-related quality of life, pain, sleep, and oral health. Generally, we observed adaptive associations between optimism and health. Higher optimism and lower pessimism were most consistently associated with lower rates of substance use and lower cardiometabolic risk. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of optimism or the absence of pessimism appears to be associated with various adaptive health outcomes among youth with and without health conditions. Developmental, methodological, and clinical considerations for future research are discussed, such as conducting longitudinal studies with objective measures of health and psychometrically validated instruments.

Changes in Purpose in Life and Low-Grade Chronic Inflammation Across Older Adulthood.

Background: Older adults often experience an increase in low-grade chronic inflammation. Purpose in life could act as a protective factor as it is associated with beneficial health outcomes. Purpose in life may exert part of its adaptive function by promoting persistence in goal pursuit. During older adulthood, however, when many individuals experience an increase in intractable stressors and declining resources, the adaptive function of purpose could become reduced. Purpose: We examined whether the association between inter- and intra-individual differences in purpose in life and chronic inflammation differed across older adulthood. Method: We assessed four waves of data among 129 older adults (63-91 years old) across 6 years. Results: Hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated that within-person increases in purpose in life predicted reduced levels of chronic inflammation in early old age (25th percentile or 73 years, coefficient = -.016, p < .01), but not in advanced old age (75th percentile or 81 years, coefficient = .002, p = .67). Between-person differences in purpose were not related to chronic inflammation. Conclusions: These results suggest that greater within-person increases in purpose may protect health processes particularly in early old age but become less effective in advanced old age.

Examining intra- and inter-personal health effects of optimism and pessimism: The role of subjective well-being in romantic couples.

INTRODUCTION: Recent meta-analytic research suggests that the absence of pessimism could be a stronger predictor of physical health than the presence of optimism. The present study examined the role of subjective well-being in the effects of optimism and pessimism on physical health in romantic couples. It was hypothesized that pessimism would be more strongly associated with both well-being and health than optimism, intra- and interpersonally. Subjective well-being was also expected to explain variance in the associations between optimism, pessimism, and health. METHODS: A baseline sample of 153 opposite-sex couples completed various measures of subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and depressive symptoms) and physical health (e.g., subjective health, sleep efficiency, physical symptoms, cold symptoms, and chronic illness). RESULTS: Results of actor-partner interdependence models showed that the absence of pessimism, but not the presence of optimism, was associated with better physical health at baseline and over time. Pessimism was also a stronger predictor than optimism of baseline levels in some indicators of subjective well-being. These effects were obtained intra- and interpersonally. Finally, subjective well-being explained variance in some of the effects of pessimism on levels of physical health. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Compensatory health motivations and behaviors scale: Development, evaluation, psychometric properties and a preliminary validation.

The "Compensatory Health Beliefs" scale assesses the degree to which one believes that unhealthy behaviours can be compensated through healthier ones. However, no validated scale to assess compensatory weight-related behaviors exists. The study's objective was to develop (Study 1) and validate (Study 2) a questionnaire measuring compensatory health motivations and behaviors (CHMB) and to assess their associations with body mass index (BMI) and psychological weight-related measures. An initial 34-item measure was constructed based on a target sample's (Study 1, n = 158) suggestions and refined based on expert feedback. The measure was then tested in a representative Canadian adult sample (N = 1400, 48.7% male). The sample was stratified by sex and age and then randomly split into two (N = 701 for exploratory factor analysis; N = 699 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) cross-validation). Fit indices, standardized Cronbach's alphas and the associations between the CHMB model with cognitive restraint, weight concerns, and BMI were assessed in multiple linear regression models controlling for age and sex. The final CHMB model (n = 17 items) consisted of four subscales: (1) motivation, (2) use on special occasions, (3) general use, (4) compensatory health beliefs. Fit indices (Goodness of Fit Index = 0.922) and Cronbach's alphas were good (α = 0.88). In multiple linear regression models, all CHMB subscales were associated with greater cognitive restraint in eating. Compensatory behavior use on special occasions was associated with greater weight concern (B = 0.12, p < .0001), while general compensatory behavior use was associated with lower weight concern (B = -0.07, p < .05). None of the subscales were associated with BMI. The validated CHMB scale allows for the assessment of compensatory health motivations and behaviors in a Canadian population. Research on whether this scale can predict weight changes and general health is needed.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia moderates the interpersonal consequences of brooding rumination.

Brooding rumination is an intrapersonal emotion regulation strategy associated with negative interpersonal consequences. Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a psychophysiological marker of self-regulatory capacity, may buffer the association between maladaptive emotion regulation and negative interpersonal behaviors. The current work examines the moderating effect of RSA on the association between brooding rumination and different negative interpersonal consequences. Across three convenience samples, individuals with lower RSA showed a stronger association between brooding rumination and more negative interpersonal behaviors as well as less perception of received instrumental social support (Study 1; n = 154), higher levels of interviewer-rated interpersonal stress (Study 2; n = 42) and a stronger indirect association between brooding rumination and depressive symptoms via daily interpersonal stress (Study 3; n = 222). These findings highlight the negative interpersonal consequences of brooding rumination, particularly among individuals with lower RSA.

Agency and Motivation in Adulthood and Old Age.

This review addresses conceptual and empirical research about how individual agency and motivation influences development during adulthood and old age. The major life-span approaches to individual agency and developmental regulation are discussed, with a focus on the motivational theory of life-span development. Developmental agency unfolds through action cycles of pursuing long-term goals for optimal development. Individuals differ in their capacity to regulate their goal engagements effectively within the age-graded structure of opportunities and constraints in their life courses. We discuss a set of research examples about specific developmental challenges, such as transition to adulthood, biological aging, illness, and societal transformation, and show how individuals, as agents in their own development, navigate change for better or worse. We conclude with suggestions for future research.

Goal adjustment capacities and quality of life: A meta-analytic review.

OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis quantified associations between goal disengagement and goal reengagement capacities with individuals' quality of life (i.e., well-being and health). METHODS: Effect sizes (Fisher's Z'; N = 421) from 31 samples were coded on several characteristics (e.g., goal adjustment capacity, quality of life type/subtype, age, and depression risk status) and analyzed using meta-analytic random effects models. RESULTS: Goal disengagement (r = 0.08, p < 0.01) and goal reengagement (r = 0.19, p < 0.01) were associated with greater quality of life. While goal disengagement more strongly predicted negative (r = -0.12, p < 0.01) versus positive (r = 0.02, p = 0.37) indicators of well-being, goal reengagement was similarly associated with both (positive: r = 0.24, p < 0.01; negative: r = -0.17, p < 0.01). Finally, the association between goal disengagement and lower depressive symptoms (r = -0.11, p < 0.01) was reversed in samples at-risk for depression (r = 0.08, p = 0.01), and goal disengagement more strongly predicted quality of life in older samples (B = 0.003, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support theory on the self-regulatory functions of individuals' capacities to adjust to unattainable goals, document their distinct benefits, and identify key moderating factors.

Why are we together? A dyadic longitudinal investigation of relationship motivation, goal progress, and adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This investigation used self-determination theory to study goal striving in the context of romantic relationships. The study explored how dyadic partners' relationship motivation impacted goal progress, personal well-being, and relationship satisfaction. In addition, the mediating role of relationship goal progress was explored. METHOD: In a prospective longitudinal study, 153 heterosexual couples rated their own relationship motivation and each reported a relationship goal and a self-oriented goal. Goal progress was assessed approximately 1 year later. In addition, well-being and relationship satisfaction were assessed at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: Actor-partner interdependence models revealed that actor's autonomous relationship motivation was positively associated with relationship and self-oriented goal progress. Actor's autonomous relationship motivation, as well as both actor and partner relationship goal progress, were associated with increases in actor's subjective well-being (SWB) and relationship satisfaction. Relationship goal progress mediated the association between actor's autonomous relationship motivation and SWB, as well as relationship satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these findings contribute to research on relationship motivation and goal striving in dyadic partners, by suggesting that motivational regulations impact goal regulation in romantic relationships and associated well-being outcomes.

Changes in physical activity behavior and C-reactive protein in breast cancer patients.

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations are associated with morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patients and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) may help regulate CRP levels. Purpose: The purpose of this prospective study was to examine intraindividual and interindividual changes in MVPA on changes in CRP levels among early posttreatment breast cancer patients. Methods: During five data collections over the first year posttreatment for breast cancer, women (N = 138, Mage = 55.3, standard deviation = 11.1 years) completed a questionnaire, wore an accelerometer for seven consecutive days to measure MVPA, and provided blood samples to measure CRP concentrations. Intraindividual and interindividual associations between MVPA on CRP were tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results: Based on the intraindividual associations, lower concentrations of CRP were evident when participants engaged in more, as compared to their average, MVPA (ß = -.02, p < .021). In addition, interindividual analyses showed that women who engaged in more MVPA across the study period had lower concentrations of CRP compared to women who engaged in less MVPA (ß = -.24, p = .006). Conclusions: MVPA in breast cancer patients is consistently associated with lower CRP concentrations over time. Interventions may target individual MVPA early after diagnosis to mitigate CRP levels in breast cancer patients.

Self-compassion, chronic age-related stressors, and diurnal cortisol secretion in older adulthood.

Many older adults experience chronic age-related stressors (e.g., life regrets or health problems) that are difficult to control and can disturb cortisol regulation. Self-compassion may buffer adverse effects of these stressful experiences on diurnal cortisol secretion in older adulthood. To examine whether self-compassion could benefit older adults' cortisol secretion in the context of chronic and largely uncontrollable age-related stressors, 233 community-dwelling older adults reported their levels of self-compassion, age-related stressors (regret intensity, physical health problems, and functional disability), and relevant covariates. Diurnal cortisol was measured over 3 days and the average area-under-the-curve and slope were calculated. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with lower daily cortisol levels among older adults who reported higher levels of regret intensity, physical health problems, or functional disability (ßs < - .53, ps < .01), but not among their counterparts who reported lower levels of these age-related stressors (ßs < .24, ps > .28). These results suggest that self-compassion may represent an important personal resource that could protect older adults from stress-related biological disturbances resulting from chronic and uncontrollable stressors.

Changes in social support predict emotional well-being in breast cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer survivors who have completed surgery and adjuvant treatment have distinct social support needs that may relate to emotional health. There is little research on both levels of social support following treatment and the association between social support and emotional well-being over time following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. The aims of this study were to assess (1) the direction and magnitude of change in social support quality and quantity and (2) the degree to which change in quality and quantity of social support predicted change in emotional well-being over time following completion of breast cancer treatment. METHODS: A sample of 157 female breast cancer survivors (Mage = 55, SD = 11 years) completed a baseline and a 1-year follow-up questionnaire assessing sociodemographic information, quality and quantity of social support, and emotional well-being including depression symptoms, stress, and positive and negative affect. RESULTS: Social support quantity significantly decreased over 1 year, while social support quality remained stable. Based on change score analyses, a decrease in social support quality was a significant predictor of increases in depression, stress, and negative affect, explaining an extra 4 to 6% of variance in the emotional well-being outcomes compared with social support quantity. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the decline in social support among recently treated female breast cancer survivors and the importance of maintaining high-quality social support for emotional well-being. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Do the Emotional Benefits of Optimism Vary Across Older Adulthood? A Life Span Perspective.

This study examined whether the emotional benefits of dispositional optimism for managing stressful encounters decrease across older adulthood. Such an effect might emerge because age-related declines in opportunities for overcoming stressors could reduce the effectiveness of optimism. This hypothesis was tested in a 6-year longitudinal study of 171 community-dwelling older adults (age range = 64-90 years). Hierarchical linear models showed that dispositional optimism protected relatively young participants from exhibiting elevations in depressive symptoms over time, but that these benefits became increasingly reduced among their older counterparts. Moreover, the findings showed that an age-related association between optimism and depressive symptoms was observed particularly during periods of enhanced, as compared to reduced, stress. These results suggest that dispositional optimism protects emotional well-being during the early phases of older adulthood, but that its effects are reduced in advanced old age.

Systemic inflammation among breast cancer survivors: the roles of goal disengagement capacities and health-related self-protection.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the associations between breast cancer survivors' capacity to adjust to unattainable goals (through goal disengagement and goal reengagement), health-related self-protection (e.g., positive reappraisals), and low-grade systemic inflammation (i.e., C-reactive protein [CRP]). METHODS: Self-reports of goal adjustment capacities and health-related self-protection were measured and concentrations of the inflammatory molecule CRP were quantified in a cross-sectional sample of 121 female breast cancer survivors (Mage 55.53, SD = 10.99 years). RESULTS: Results from hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that low levels of goal disengagement capacities predicted higher CRP. Moreover, health-related self-protection buffered the association between failure to disengage from unattainable goals and elevated CRP. These results were independent from potential confounders including age, education, smoking, BMI, cancer stage, and time since diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The study's findings suggest that goal disengagement capacities and health-related self-protection can work together in predicting systemic inflammation among breast cancer survivors. Failure to disengage from unattainable goals may trigger health-compromising inflammatory processes, unless breast cancer survivors are able to engage in self-protection to manage their health threats.

Predicting changes in posttraumatic growth and subjective well-being among breast cancer survivors: the role of social support and stress.

OBJECTIVE: Social support is theoretically expected to be positively associated with posttraumatic growth (PTG) and subjective well-being, and stress is expected to be positively associated with PTG and negatively associated with subjective well-being among breast cancer (BC) survivors. However, empirical evidence is mixed, predominantly cross-sectional, and few studies have examined the unique effects of these predictors on positive changes in psychological experiences post cancer diagnosis and systemic treatment. This study examined both general and BC-specific social support and stress as predictors of change in PTG and subjective well-being among BC survivors. METHODS: Women (N = 173, Mage = 55.40, SD = 10.99) who had recently finished treatment completed demographic and treatment measures at baseline (T1); general and cancer-specific social support and stress, PTG and subjective well-being at 3 months (T2); and PTG and subjective well-being again at 6 months (T3). Longitudinal predictors of change in PTG and subjective well-being were examined using hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: The BC-specific social support (ß = .12) and stress (cancer worry; ß = .10) predicted increasing levels of PTG. Improvements in subjective well-being were predicted by higher levels of general social support (ß = .21) and lower levels of general stress (ß = -.59). CONCLUSIONS: There are distinct predictors of change in PTG and subjective well-being among BC survivors, supporting the distinction between the trauma-specific process of PTG and well-being.

Not all negative emotions are equal - Sadness and anger develop differently and their adaptivity is age-graded.

We argue that a comprehensive understanding of emotional development across adulthood must go beyond broad dimensions of affect and consider discrete emotions. Current evidence focuses on sadness and anger, two negative emotions that exert contrasting age trajectories because anger has high adaptive value in young adulthood, when people have abundant resources and need to carve out a niche in society, whereas sadness has high adaptive value in old age, a time of declining resources that requires adaptation to increasingly unattainable goals. We conclude that our position about the age-graded experience and adaptive value of emotions should hold for a variety of negative and positive emotions.

Control strategies for managing health threats in older adults.

This article addresses the motivational processes that enable older adults to manage health-related threats and to protect their psychological and physical functioning. Based on the Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development (MTD) [1], we describe how an age- and opportunity-adjusted use of control strategies can support the regulation of important developmental goals across the lifespan. In addition, we apply the premises of the MTD to the management of health threats in later adulthood and review the pertinent empirical literature. Finally, we use the Lines-of-Defense model [2] to show how an orchestrated and strategic use of control strategies can help older adults to manage the experience of progressive health declines and remain engaged in the pursuit of important health goals.

The interpersonal benefits of goal adjustment capacities: the sample case of coping with poor sleep in couples.

Introduction: This study examined the role of goal adjustment capacities and coping in the association between spousal sleep efficiency and relationship satisfaction in romantic couples. Method: A community lifespan sample of 113 heterosexual couples (age range = 21-82 years) was recruited using newspaper advertisements in the Greater Montreal Area from June 2011 to December 2012. Participants completed study measures (i.e., Goal Adjustment Scale, Brief Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Relationship Assessment Scale, and the Brief Cope) at two time points, ~1 year apart. Results: The results of actor-partner interdependence models with moderation (MIXED procedure in SPSS) reveal that goal disengagement buffered people from worsening relationship satisfaction associated with poor spousal sleep [95% CI B (-1.17, -0.12)], in part via increases in actor active coping [95% CI B (-0.32, -0.02)] and decreases in partner self-blame [95% CI B (-0.28, -0.01)]. Goal reengagement was related to diminished relationship satisfaction in response to poor own sleep [95% CI B (0.59, 1.79)], in part through increases in actor behavioral disengagement [95% CI B (0.05, 0.41)]. Discussion: These findings point to a need for future studies to examine goal adjustment capacities and relationship-specific coping strategies as potential targets of intervention to maintain peoples' relationship satisfaction in the face of sleep problems.

Goal adjustment, physical and sedentary activity, and well-being and health among breast cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study examined whether goal adjustment capacities (i.e., goal disengagement and goal reengagement) would predict breast cancer survivors' emotional well-being and physical health by facilitating high levels of physical activity and low levels of sedentary activity. METHODS: Self-reports of goal adjustment capacities were measured among 176 female breast cancer survivors at baseline. Self-reports of physical activity, sedentary activity, daily affect, and daily physical health symptoms (e.g., nausea or pain) were measured at baseline and 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: Goal reengagement predicted high levels of positive affect and low levels of physical symptoms at baseline and increases in positive affect over 3 months. The combination of high goal disengagement and high goal reengagement was associated with particularly large 3-month increases in positive affect. The effects of goal reengagement on baseline affect and physical health were mediated by high baseline levels of physical activity, and the interaction effect on 3-month changes in positive affect was mediated by low baseline levels of sedentary activity. CONCLUSIONS: Goal adjustment capacities can exert beneficial effects on breast cancer survivors' well-being and physical health by facilitating adaptive levels of physical and sedentary activity. Integrating goal adjustment processes into clinical practice may be warranted.

A lines-of-defense model for managing health threats: a review.

As older individuals face challenges of progressive disease and increasing disability and approach the end of their lives, their capacity for controlling their environment and own health and functioning declines. The Lines-of-Defense Model is based on the Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development and proposes that individuals can adjust their control striving to the progressive physical decline in distinctly organized cycles of goal engagement and goal disengagement that reflect sequentially organized lines of defense. This organized process allows individuals to hold onto and defend still feasible levels of physical health and functioning in activities of daily living, while adjusting to increasing impairments. As physical constraints become more severe towards the end of life, avoiding psychological suffering becomes the focus of individuals' strivings for control. The Lines-of-Defense Model can also be applied to the inverse process of growth in functioning during recovery and rehabilitation.

Conscientiousness and stress exposure and reactivity: a prospective study of adolescent females.

Conscientiousness is associated with health, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. To explore the role that stress might play, this study examined whether conscientiousness was associated with exposure and reactivity to life stress. This study followed 133 adolescent women every 6 months for 2.5 years. Participants completed a baseline measure of conscientiousness, and at each visit underwent a structured interview to catalogue episodic and chronic stress and had blood drawn to assess inflammatory processes. Participants higher in conscientiousness experienced fewer self-dependent episodic stressors and less academic and interpersonal chronic stress throughout the study. However, at times when they experienced higher levels of chronic interpersonal stress, they became more resistant to glucocorticoids. Higher levels of conscientiousness may protect adolescent women from exposure to certain stressors. However, when stress occurs, highly conscientious individuals may become more resistant to glucocorticoids, increasing their risk for processes that influence inflammatory conditions.