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Study respondents exhibited unrealistic optimism in response to three of five questions about the likelihood of particular events happening to them compared with other trial participants: having their cancer controlled by drugs administered in the trials, experiencing a health benefit from the drugs in the trials, and not experiencing a health problem from the drugs in the trials. Individuals can have one form of optimism without the other. Unrealistic optimism, which social psychologists define as being specific to a situation and consider a form of bias, is distinct from "dispositional optimism," which is a general outlook on life and is neither realistic nor unrealistic. Questionnaires assessed signs of unrealistic optimism, as well as participants' understanding of the trials' purpose. The study included 72 patients with cancer who were enrolled in early-phase oncology trials in the New York metropolitan area between August 2008 and October 2009. "Others have claimed that unrealistic expectations for benefit are a result of misunderstanding and that the proper response to them is to provide patient-subjects with more informationÂ…" But the study cast doubt on both assumptions. Harvard Gazette.Many cancer researchers and ethicists assume that hope and optimism in the research context are "always ethically benign, without considering the possibility that they reflect a bias," write the authors of the study, which appears in IRB: Ethics & Human Research. Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women. Are people healthier if their partners are more optimistic? The dyadic effect of optimism on health among older adults. Optimism and pessimism are related to different components of the stress response in healthy older people. Puig-Perez S, Villada C, Pulopulos MM, Almela M, Hidalgo V, Salvador A. Being an optimist or a pessimist and its relationship with morning cortisol release and past life review in healthy older people. Puig-Perez S, Pulopulos MM, Hidalgo V, Salvador A. Dimensions of negative thinking and the relations with symptoms of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. Gender differences in rumination: A meta-analysis. Forecasting life satisfaction across adulthood: Benefits of seeing a dark future? Psychol Aging.
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Optimism and pessimism in social context: An interpersonal perspective on resilience and risk. Smith TW, Ruiz JM, Cundiff JM, Baron KG, Nealey-Moore JB. Pessimism is associated with greater all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, but optimism is not protective. Whitfield JB, Zhu G, Landers JG, Martin NG. One study showed that in older people, pessimism is also correlated with higher stress levels, more focus on the less positive parts of their life, and a greater tendency to look back on life with more negativity in general, reducing life satisfaction. Pessimists tend to have greater stress and fewer coping skills.A negative outlook is associated with a number of other heightened health risks, such as heart disease, as well as overall mortality. Pessimism contributes to negative health effects.Likewise, low mood, negative thoughts, low self-esteem, and worry are not only characteristics of pessimistic thinkers, but also factors in depression. Key symptoms of anxiety disorders are excessive worry, rumination, and worst-case scenario thinking. Overly negative thinking contributes to depression and anxiety.Rumination and brooding are both components of pessimistic thinking. Studies suggest that women may have higher rates of depression because they have higher rates of rumination, brooding, and reflection. Dwelling on negative thoughts is bad for well-being.