Optimists report fewer physical and mental health conditions than pessimists in the general Norwegian population

Bredal, Inger Schou; Bonsaksen, Tore; Heir, Trond; Skogstad, Laila; Lerdal, Anners; Grimholt, Tine K.; Ekeberg, Øivind

doi:10.5114/hpr.2019.81003

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 66 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…Fewer optimists had suicidal ideation than pessimists during the COVID-19 period, which is consistent with previous findings associating optimism with fewer suicidal thoughts and behaviors ( Chang et al, 2013 ; Huffman et al, 2016 ; Schou-Bredal et al, 2019 ). Depression has been found to be associated with suicidal ideation ( Rogers et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Optimists’ and pessimists’ self-reported mental and global health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway

Schou-Bredal¹,

Grimholt²,

Bonsaksen³

et al. 2021

Health Psychology Report

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health psychology report • volume 9(2),  original article background The COVID-19 pandemic represents a global health crisis. How well people cope with this situation depends on many factors, including one's personality, such as dispositional optimism. The aim of the study was to investigate: 1) optimists' and pessimists' concerns during lockdown, and mental and global health; 2) whether pessimists without known risk factors more often than optimists report being at risk for COVID-19. participants and procedureA snowball sampling strategy was used; 4,527 people, 18 years or older, participated in a survey on a variety of mental health conditions and COVID-19 worries. In addition, they completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R). Optimism was defined by LOT-R f ≥ 17. resultsFewer optimists than pessimists reported that they were worried about COVID-19, respectively 51.2% vs. 66.8%, p < .001. Among those reporting none of the known so-matic risk factors, more pessimists than optimists (14.3% vs. 9.1%, p < .001) considered themselves at risk of a fatal outcome from COVID-19. Significantly fewer optimists reported that they had anxiety (5.1%), depression (3.4%), suicidal ideation (0.7%) and insomnia (19.3%) during the COVID-19 outbreak than pessimists (24.7% anxiety, 18.4% depression, 5.4% suicidal ideation, 39.8% insomnia, all p < .001). Optimists reported better global health than pessimists (87.2 vs. 84.6, p < .001). conclusionsOptimists were generally less worried about the COVID-19 pandemic than pessimists and reported better mental and global health during lockdown. Pessimists more often than optimists reported being at risk for COVID-19 without reporting known risk factors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Optimists’ and pessimists’ self-reported mental and global health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway

Schou-Bredal¹,

Grimholt²,

Bonsaksen³

et al. 2021

Health Psychology Report

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“…Optimists reported higher levels of physical health and mental health in this study, consistent with earlier research ndings indicating optimists have better mental well-being than pessimists (Kaida & Kaida, 2019;Ojala, 2012). Our ndings suggest that pessimists with a lower level of mental health and physical health are similar (Schou-Bredal et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Environmental concerns, physical and mental health among Palestinians: the mediating roles of optimism, pessimism and meaning in life

Bdier,

Veronese,

Mahamid

et al. 2024

J Public Health (Berl.)

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We investigated the association between environmental concerns, health and mental health among Palestinians and whether optimism, pessimism and meaning in life mediate the association between these variables. The sample of our study consisted or 504 participants were selected using online tools.The ndings revealed that pessimism negatively correlated with optimism, mental health, physical health, and meaning in life, while optimism positively correlated with mental health, physical health, and meaning in life and negatively correlated with environmental concerns. Moreover, meaning in life correlated negatively with environmental concerns. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis showed that optimism, pessimism, and meaning in life mediate the correlation between environmental concerns, health and mental health with a good t for our model. In the case of Palestinian territories, environmental concerns and issues are driven mainly by politics affecting people's health and mental well-being. Therefore, it is recommended to conduct similar studies to explore protective factors against environmental concerns in the Palestinian context, which will help develop appropriate interventions to enhance mental health in a society characterized by high stressors and prolonged trauma

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“…Thus, scores ranged from 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more optimism. The LOT-R is commonly used with a one-factor structure, and persons who are more optimistic have been shown to be less inclined to report a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, compared to persons who are less optimistic (Schou-Bredal et al , 2019). Cronbach’s α for the one-factor measure was 0.75 (Schou-Bredal et al , 2017).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Daily use of alcohol in the Norwegian general population: Prevalence and associated factors

Bonsaksen

Heir

Skogstad

et al. 2020

DAT

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Purpose Harmful use of alcohol is a major public health problem. While harm is often researched in the context of heavy drinking episodes, high-frequency drinking, even when drinking moderate quantities, constitutes a health risk in a longer perspective. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of daily use of alcohol in the Norwegian general population and to assess sociodemographic, mental health-related and personal resource variables associated with daily use of alcohol. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey concerned with health, illness and serious life events was distributed to 5,500 persons in the general population in Norway (response rate 36%). Sociodemographic variables, personal resource variables (general self-efficacy, optimism and extraversion) and psychological distress (current anxiety and/or depression) were assessed with regards to their associations with daily drinking in unadjusted and adjusted regression models. Findings Daily use of alcohol was reported by 39 persons (2.2%) in the sample (3.1% of men and 1.4% of women). While general self-efficacy, optimism and extraversion were unrelated to daily drinking, the adjusted model revealed that male sex (OR: 2.18, p < 0.05), being unemployed/not in education (OR: 3.10, p < 0.05) and reporting current anxiety and/or depression (OR: 3.12, p < 0.01) were associated with daily use of alcohol. Originality/value The study has contributed to the knowledge about daily drinkers in a representative sample of the Norwegian population. A proportion of 2.2% was found to drink alcohol on a daily basis. Compared to their counterparts, the odds of daily drinking were higher for men, unemployed persons and persons reporting current psychological distress. Public health initiatives aiming at reducing harmful use of alcohol may pay particular attention to these subsets of the population.

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Optimists report fewer physical and mental health conditions than pessimists in the general Norwegian population

Cited by 8 publications

References 66 publications

Optimists’ and pessimists’ self-reported mental and global health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway

Optimists’ and pessimists’ self-reported mental and global health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway

Environmental concerns, physical and mental health among Palestinians: the mediating roles of optimism, pessimism and meaning in life

Daily use of alcohol in the Norwegian general population: Prevalence and associated factors

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