Optimism Versus Pessimism as Predictors of Physical Health

Members of the Optimism/Pessimism Meta-Analytic Consortium include: Diane Abatemarco, Wills Vision Center, Jefferson University; Cleopatra Abdou, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California; Kaleab Abebe, Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Clinical Trials and Data Coordination, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Nancy Adler, Center for Health and Community, University of California San Francisco; Amy L. Ai, College of Social Work, Florida State University; Ericha Anthony, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego; Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego; Scott Beach, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Theresa Beckie, College of Nursing, University of South Florida; Melanie Bell, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid ZuckermanCollege of Public Health, University of Arizona; David Bennett, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Drexel University; Paul Bennett, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University Burwood; Hasida Ben-Zur, School of Social Work, University of Haifa; Gunilla Berglund, Department of Psychology, Stockholm University; Elizabeth Blackburn, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco; Maria Bleil, School of Nursing, University of Washington; Julia Boehm, Department of Psychology, Chapman University; Jacky Boivin, School of Psychology, Cardiff University; David Boulifard, Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Jennifer Boylan, Health and Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado, Denver; Phyllis Butow, Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making, School of Psychology, University of Sydney; Janet Catov, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and the Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh; Christopher Celano, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Sheldon Cohen, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University; Richard Contrada, Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Anna deFazio, Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Neonatology, Centre for Cancer Research, University of Sydney; Firdaus Dhabhar, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Miami; Alexandrina Dumitrescu, Institute of Clinical Dentistry, University of Tromsø; Meredith Duncan, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Chris Dunkel Schetter, Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles; Scott Dunsiger, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University/Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital; Steriani Elavsky, Institute for Research on Children, Youth, and Family, Masaryk University; Ari Elliot, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester; Charles Emery, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University; Romano Endrighi, Center for Behavioral Science Research, Henry M Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University; Elissa Epel, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Michael Frain, Department of Counselor Education, Florida Atlantic University; Matt Freiberg, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Hanna Gaggin, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Andrew Geers, Department of Psychology, University of Toledo; Marianne Geleijnse, Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University & Research; Erik Giltay, Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre; Steven Gregorich, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco; Francine Grodstein, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Kaitlin Hagan, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Meredith Halling, Medical College of Wisconsin; China Harrison, School of Psychology, Cardiff University; Ana Progovac, Health Equity Research Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance; Brian Healy, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Bea Herbeck Belnap, Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Behavioral Health and Smart Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Jukka Hintikka, Department of Psychiatry, University of Tampere; Yan Huang, Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Research on Health Care Data Center, University of Pittsburgh; Jörg Huber, School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton; Jeff Huffman, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Violetta Jachimowicz, Department of Geriatrics, Medical University of Lodz and The President Stanisław Wojciechowski University School of Applied Sciences in Kalisz; Marta Jackowska, Psychology Department, Roehampton University; James Januzzi, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital; Olli Kampman, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University; Tuomas Kerola, Päijät-Häme Central Hospital; Eric Kim, Department of Social and Behavioral Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Yojin Kim, Department of Social Welfare, Hallym University; Jennifer Knight, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin; Barna Konkolÿ Thege, Waypoint Research Institute, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care, Penetanguishene and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Tomasz Kostka, Department of Geriatrics, Medical University of Lodz, and Healthy Ageing Research Centre (HARC), Central Veterans’ Hospital; Donna Kritz-Silverstein, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego; Daan Kromhout, Department of Epidemiology, University Medical Center Groningen; Markku Kuappi, Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, University of Tampere; Laura Kubzansky, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Andreas Kueffer, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Lewis Kuller, Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh; Julian Lai, Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong; Wendy Lam, Centre for Psycho-Oncology Research and Training, School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong; Deborah Lancastle, Faculty of Life Sciences and Education, University of South Wales; Joseph Landers, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute; Gwen Latendresse, College of Nursing, University of Utah; Chengwei Li, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health; Jue Lin, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco; Lynda Lisabeth, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Stroke Program, University of Michigan Medical School; Carissa Low, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Pittsburgh; Mark Lumley, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University; Nicholas Martin, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute; Sheila McDonald, Department of Paediatrics, University of Calgary; Joel Milam, Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California; Mary Minton, College of Nursing, South Dakota State University; Paula Mommersteeg, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, and Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Tilburg University; Lewis Morgenstern, Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Stroke Program, University of Michigan Medical School; Miriam Mosing, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute; Cheryl Moyer, Learning Health Sciences, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan; Aoife O’Donovan, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Kendea Oliver, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center; Jolanta Opacka-Juffry, Department of Life Sciences, University of Roehampton; Mikko Pänkäläinen, Department of Psychiatry, Päijät-Häme Central Hospital; Lauri Pasch, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Madelon Peters, Department of Clinical Psychological Science, Maastricht University; Natalia Petros, Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London; Ovidiu Popa-Velea, Department of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy; Melanie Price, Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making (CeMPED), School of Psychology, University of Sydney; Katri Räikkönen, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki; Batia Rappaport, The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel; Nathaly Rius Ottenheim, Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Centre; Michael Rohrbaugh, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona; Bruce Rollman, Division of General Internal Medicine, Center for Behavioral Health and Smart Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; John Ruiz, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona; Elena Salmoirago-Blotcher, Brown University Medical School and School of Public Health; Brisa Sanchez, Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health; Michael F. Scheier, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University; Anna Serlachius, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland, and Department of Psychology and Logopedics, The University of Helsinki; Aladdin Shadyab, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego School of Medicine; Laura Smart Richman, Duke University School of Medicine; Gabrielle Snyder, Magee Women’s Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh; Marcia Stefanick, Stanford Wellness Living Laboratory, Stanford University School of Medicine; Jesse Stewart, Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University; Angelina Sutin, College of Medicine, Florida State University; Joshua D. Swanson, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University; Jean Tillie, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Stanford Immunology Program, Stanford University; Hilary A. Tindle, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers (GRECC), Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System; Kirsti Toien, Department of Research and Development, Division of Critical Care, Oslo University Hospital; Janice Tomakowsky, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University; Gideon Uretzky, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Tel Aviv University; Jason Van Allen, Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University; Ondine van de Rest, Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University & Research; Jean Wactawski-Wende, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo; Penny Webb, Gynaecological Cancers Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute; Howard Wey, College of Nursing, South Dakota State University; Andrew Wilson, College of Nursing, University of Utah; Owen Wolkowitz, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco; Carsten Wrosch, Department of Psychology, Concordia University; Joyce Yi-Frazier, Center for Clinical and Translational Research, Seattle Children’s Research Institute; Pekka Ylöstalo, Unit of Oral Health Sciences, Medical Research Center Oulu (MRC Oulu), Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu.

This project was supported by funding provided by the John Templeton Foundation to the University of Notre Dame and Cornell University as part of the initiative entitled, Hope and Optimism: Conceptual and Empirical Investigations. Data for the largest study reanalyzed in this meta-analysis was provided by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The WHI program is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through contracts HHSN268201600018C, HHSN268201600001C, HHSN268201600002C, HHSN268201600003C, and HHSN268201600004C. The authors thank the WHI investigators and staff for their dedication, and the study participants for making the program possible. A full listing of WHI investigators can be found at: http://www.whi.org/researchers/Documents%20%20Write%20a%20Paper/WHI%20Investigator%20Long%20List.pdf. We thank Allison Chu, Nabila Jahan, and Erin Fingleton, who helped search the literature and organize studies. The data set used in the analyses that are presented in this article can be accessed at the following URL: https://doi.org/10.1184/R1/8295647.v1.

Michael F. Scheier, Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 [email protected]

Received July 5, 2019

revised May 11, 2020

Accepted May 11, 2020