S. Robinsonwhelen et al., DISTINGUISHING OPTIMISM FROM PESSIMISM IN OLDER ADULTS - IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO BE OPTIMISTIC OR NOT TO BE PESSIMISTIC, Journal of personality and social psychology, 73(6), 1997, pp. 1345-1353
Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the Life Orientation Test (
LOT) consisted of separate Optimism and Pessimism factors among middle
-aged and older adults. Although the two factors were significantly ne
gatively correlated among individuals facing a profound life challenge
(i.e., caregiving), they were only weakly correlated among noncaregiv
ers. Caregivers also expressed less optimism than noncaregivers and sh
owed a trend toward greater pessimism, suggesting that life stress may
affect these dispositions. Pessimism, not optimism, uniquely predicte
d subsequent psychological and physical health; however, optimism and
pessimism were equally predictive for stressed and nonstressed samples
. By exploring optimism and pessimism separately researchers may bette
r determine whether the beneficial effects of optimism result from thi
nking optimistically, avoiding pessimistic thinking, or a combination
of the two.