scholarly journals Hope and Fear in the Midst of Coronavirus: What Accounts for COVID-19 Preparedness?

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110509
Author(s):  
David B. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Percent Level ◽  
Amazon Mechanical Turk ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Percent Mortality

Objective: The present study asks the question: What variables accounted for people’s tendencies to take steps to prepare for COVID-19 during the earliest stage of the pandemic? Data collection took place from March 6 to 11, 2020. In particular, the study examines variables that have been shown to predict health behavior in previous research outside the context of the present pandemic, including hope, optimism, perceived risk, fear, and mental health variables. Method: Participants (222 adults in 39 U.S. states) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Online surveys included the Adult Hope Scale (AHS), Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Impact of Events Scale (IES-R), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Also included were items inquiring about COVID-19 perceived mortality risk, fear/anxiety, and preparedness. Results and Conclusion: Participants were asked to imagine that COVID-19 had different hypothetical levels of mortality risk, ranging from 1 to 10 percent mortality (at the time of data collection, the WHO estimated actual mortality of the disease at approximately 3 percent). For each level, participants rated the degree to which they would be willing to take steps to prepare and protect themselves from the disease on a 7-point scale. Nearly 49 percent of participants said they would be relatively unlikely (i.e., provided a rating below the midpoint of the scale) to take steps to protect themselves if the mortality rate were at the 3 percent level. Stepwise multiple regression including the aforementioned predictors showed that three variables accounted for unique variance in participants’ levels of current preparedness: COVID-19 fear/anxiety, posttraumatic stress (as measured by the IES-R), and hope. Implications of these results are briefly discussed in the context of raising preparedness given that future public health crises are likely inevitable.

Adaptation of a General Optimism Scale for Use with Older Women

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 931-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Sharpe ◽  
Tom Hickey ◽  
Fredric M. Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Internal Consistency Reliability ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Functionally Impaired ◽  
Orientation Test

The Life Orientation Test has been widely used with various populations since its development, but its psychometric properties among older adults have not been assessed. This study employed exploratory factor analysis to examine the factor structure of a modified version of the test for 90 frail older women. The results do not support a unidimensional conceptualization of optimism. Internal consistency reliability was lower for the entire scale than for separate factors representing positively versus negatively framed questions. Some support for construct validity was shown by small to moderate correlations with several related constructs. The results were likely to have been affected both by the modification of the test to simplify data collection with an elderly population and by a differing manifestation of the construct among functionally impaired older adults as compared to previous research with younger, healthier samples.

Optimismus und Pessimismus bei Vorschulkindern

Diagnostica ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-74
Author(s):  
Sakari Lemola ◽  
Antje von Suchodoletz ◽  
Katri Räikkönen ◽  
Catherine Gunzenhauser
Keyword(s):  
Screening Instrument ◽  
Sich Eine ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Orientation Test

Zusammenfassung. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist die Untersuchung der psychometrischen Eigenschaften, faktoriellen Struktur und konvergenten Validität der deutschsprachigen Version des Parent Rated Life Orientation Test of Children (PLOT) zur Messung von Optimismus und Pessimismus bei 4 bis 6-jährigen Vorschulkindern. Eltern von 145 Kindergartenkindern (77 Mädchen; Alter: M = 5.0, SD = 0.6 Jahre) schätzten Optimismus und Pessimismus sowie Emotionsregulation der Kinder ein. Außerdem wurde das Problemverhalten der Kinder (Eltern- und Erzieherinneneinschätzung) erfasst. Konsistent zu Studien mit Schulkindern und Jugendlichen zeigte sich eine zweidimensionale Faktorenstruktur mit einem Optimismus- und einem Pessimismusfaktor. Die Ergebnisse ergaben theoriekonforme Zusammenhänge mit Problemverhalten und Emotionsregulation der Kinder. Insgesamt weisen die gefundenen Reliabilitäts- und Validitätswerte auf eine gute Verwendbarkeit des PLOT bei Vorschulkindern hin. Das neue Messverfahren kann einen Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis von Zukunftserwartungen bei Vorschulkindern leisten und als Screening-Instrument zur Identifikation von Kindern mit einem Entwicklungsrisiko dienen.

Revised Life Orientation Test

1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Scheier ◽  
Charles S. Carver ◽  
Michael W. Bridges
Keyword(s):  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Orientation Test

Autoconcepto, ansiedad y comprensión lectora en estudiantes de educación secundaria

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-32
Author(s):  
Héctor Alvarado Collantes ◽  
Ángela María Herrera Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Orientation Test

El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo determinar la relación existente entre autoconepto personal, nivel de ansiedad y comprensión lectora en estudiantes de educación secundaria. El diseño que se reporta es descriptivo correlacional. La muestra estuvo constituida por 260 estudiantes varones y mujeres del VII ciclo de educación secundaria del colegio N°0025, del distrito de Ate, de la Urbanización San Gregorio, a quienes se les aplicaron los siguientes instrumentos: el cuestionario de autoconcepto personal (APE) de Eider Goñi Palacios (2009); la escala de ansiedad, el LOT, y el LOT-R; Life Orientation Test, de Sheier, Carver y Bridges (1994); y la prueba de comprensión lectora de Cabanillas (2004). A partir del análisis de los resultados, se concluye que existe una relación significativa entre autoconcepto personal, nivel de ansiedad y comprensión lectora en estudiantes de educación secundaria.

The effects of optimism on self-framing and risky decision making

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ran Zhang ◽  
Luming Zhao ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Hongxu Chen ◽  
Gaoxing Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Framing Effect ◽  
Risky Decision Making ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Risk Seeking ◽  
Behavioral Decision Making ◽  
Behavioral Decision ◽  
Orientation Test

The framing effect is a key topic that has been insufficiently studied in research on behavioral decision making. In our study we explored the effects of optimism on self-framing and risky decision making. Participants were 416 undergraduates who responded to the Life Orientation Test and a self-framing test based on the Asian disease problem. The results demonstrate that, compared with people low in optimism, highly optimistic individuals tended to use more positive words to describe problems, generate more positive frames, and choose more risky options. There was also a significant self-framing effect: Participants with a negative frame tended to be risk-seeking, whereas those with a positive frame tended to avoid risks. Additionally, selfframing suppressed the effect of optimism on risky decision making. We can conclude that optimism has significant effects on self-framing and risky decision making.

scholarly journals A Clinical Bridge between Family Caregivers and Older Adults: The Contribution of Patients’ Frailty and Optimism on Caregiver Burden

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3406
Author(s):  
Alberto Sardella ◽  
Vittorio Lenzo ◽  
Angela Alibrandi ◽  
Antonino Catalano ◽  
Francesco Corica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Frailty Index ◽  
Dispositional Optimism ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Frailty Status ◽  
Personal Time

The association between caregiver burden and the physical frailty of older adults has been the object of previous studies. The contribution of patients’ dispositional optimism on caregiver burden is a poorly investigated topic. The present study aimed at investigating whether older adults’ multidimensional frailty and optimism might contribute to the burden of their family caregivers. The Caregiver Burden Inventory was used to measure the care-related burden of caregivers. The multidimensional frailty status of each patient was evaluated by calculating a frailty index, and the revised Life Orientation Test was used to evaluate patients’ dispositional optimism. The study involved eighty family caregivers (mean age 64.28 ± 8.6) and eighty older patients (mean age 80.45 ± 7.13). Our results showed that higher frailty status and lower levels of optimism among patients were significantly associated with higher levels of overall burden and higher burden related to the restriction of personal time among caregivers. Patients’ frailty was additionally associated with caregivers’ greater feelings of failure, physical stress, role conflicts, and embarrassment. Understanding the close connection between patient-related factors and the burden of caregivers appears to be an actual challenge with significant clinical, social, and public health implications.

Effect of Optimism, Pessimism and Anxiety on Life Orientation Test-Revised Scale among University Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-25
Author(s):  
OJS Admin
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
Orientation Test

Optimism is an attitude of a healthy mind that leads to success while pessimism is ingrained habit of mind with the consequences of underachievement and anxiety. University students who practice optimismare considered highly significant with the score of Life Orientation Test-Revised.

Dispositional Optimism and Well-Being in College Students: Self-Efficacy as a Mediator

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulan Yu ◽  
Jun Luo
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Dispositional Optimism ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Life Orientation Test ◽  
Life Orientation ◽  
General Self Efficacy ◽  
Orientation Test

We used the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Life Orientation Test Revised, and the Revised Oxford Happiness Scale to investigate the correlations among dispositional optimism, self-efficacy, and subjective well-being in 2,578 college students. The results showed that self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, and well-being were significantly positively correlated with one another. In addition, the influence of dispositional optimism on subjective well-being was partially mediated by self-efficacy, with the mediating effect accounting for 31.6% of the total effect.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document