Reout Arbel1, Dikla Segel-Karpas2, William Chopik3. 1. Department of Counseling and Human Development, The Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel. 2. Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, Israel. 3. Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Studies have demonstrated the importance of optimism in predicting perceived general health. However, the handful of studies focusing on cardiovascular biomarkers show inconsistent effects. Additionally, no study examined whether spousal levels of optimism and pessimism affect an individual's biological markers of cardiovascular health. Thus, our objectives were to examine whether partners' optimism and pessimism affect individual biological markers, differentiating between between-dyad associations and within-dyad predictive processes. METHODS: Three waves of the Health and Retirement Study collected in 2006, 2010, and 2014 were used to test actor and partner effects of optimism and pessimism on C-reactive protein (CRP) and high-density lipoprotein. Multilevel longitudinal actor-partner models were used to examine the contribution of a partner's optimism and pessimism to each biomarker, adjusting for respondent's age, sex, depression, body mass index, daily activity levels, and a summary score of respondent's doctor-diagnosed chronic conditions. RESULTS: Partners' pessimism and optimism levels were moderately associated. Results for within-person effects were all non-significant, both within and across waves. Associations at the between-person level were also non-significant, with the exception of a positive association between husbands' pessimism and their own CRP, and husbands' optimism and their wives' CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that optimism and pessimism may not play a pertinent role in within variability of biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and have a minor role in predicting to between-person variability of biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases.
OBJECTIVE: Studies have demonstrated the importance of optimism in predicting perceived general health. However, the handful of studies focusing on cardiovascular biomarkers show inconsistent effects. Additionally, no study examined whether spousal levels of optimism and pessimism affect an individual's biological markers of cardiovascular health. Thus, our objectives were to examine whether partners' optimism and pessimism affect individual biological markers, differentiating between between-dyad associations and within-dyad predictive processes. METHODS: Three waves of the Health and Retirement Study collected in 2006, 2010, and 2014 were used to test actor and partner effects of optimism and pessimism on C-reactive protein (CRP) and high-density lipoprotein. Multilevel longitudinal actor-partner models were used to examine the contribution of a partner's optimism and pessimism to each biomarker, adjusting for respondent's age, sex, depression, body mass index, daily activity levels, and a summary score of respondent's doctor-diagnosed chronic conditions. RESULTS: Partners' pessimism and optimism levels were moderately associated. Results for within-person effects were all non-significant, both within and across waves. Associations at the between-person level were also non-significant, with the exception of a positive association between husbands' pessimism and their own CRP, and husbands' optimism and their wives' CRP. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that optimism and pessimism may not play a pertinent role in within variability of biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases and have a minor role in predicting to between-person variability of biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases.
Authors: Yang Claire Yang; Courtney Boen; Karen Gerken; Ting Li; Kristen Schorpp; Kathleen Mullan Harris Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2016-01-04 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Brita Roy; Ana V Diez-Roux; Teresa Seeman; Nalini Ranjit; Steven Shea; Mary Cushman Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2010-01-25 Impact factor: 4.312