Do optimism and pessimism predict physical functioning?
Abstract
Dispositional optimism has been shown to be related to self-report measures of health and well-being, yet little research has examined the relationship between optimism and more objective measures of functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between optimism and pessimism and objective physical functioning. Four hundred eighty community-dwelling older adults with knee pain completed a measure of optimism and pessimism and were observed performing four daily activities (walking, lifting an object, climbing stairs, and getting into and out of a car). Results indicated that pessimism was significantly related to performance on all four tasks (p < .001), while optimism was related to performance only on the walking task (p < .05), after controlling for demographic and health variables.
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Prospective studies suggest that pre-morbid psychological dysfunction is a risk factor for later development of many chronic pain conditions, including musculoskeletal pain and functional pain disorders.
“prospective studies suggest that pre-morbid psychological dysfunction represents a risk factor for the future development of numerous chronic pain conditions including musculoskeletal pain and functional pain disorders 14, 36–39.”
From Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes (2018) · cites this paper as [38]
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Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes
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Optimism lowers pain: Evidence of the causal status and underlying mechanisms
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- Authors
- Brenes, G. A., Rapp, S. R., Rejeski, W. J., & Miller, M. E.
- Affiliations
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- Corresponding author
- Brenes, Gretchen A.
- Venue
- Journal of Behavioral Medicine
- Published
- 2002-06
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 219-231
- ISSN
- 0160-7715 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-3521
- OpenAlex
- W131751579
- Cited by
- 92
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 4.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wake Forest University
- National Institutes of Health (5r01ar042388-04)
- National Institute on Aging (T32-AG00182, P60AG010484, T32AG000182, P60 AG-10484)
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (R01-AR-42388)
- National Center for Research Resources (M01RR-00211, M01RR000211)
- NIH Clinical Center
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Wellbeing Research
- Keywords
- dispositional optimism, pessimism, physical function, older adults, knee pain, activities of daily living, functional performance, walking, stair climbing, community-dwelling
- MeSH terms
- Activities of Daily Living, Adaptation, Psychological, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Attitude, Female, Humans, Male, Osteoarthritis, Personality Assessment, Physical Fitness, Surveys and Questionnaires
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