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Dispositional optimism, goals, and engagement in health treatment programs
Andrew L Geers1, Justin A Wellman, Laura D Seligman
1University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA. ageers@utnet.utoledo.edu
Journal of Behavioral Medicine
|January 22, 2010
Summary
Dispositional optimism relates to treatment engagement, but only when treatment goals are perceived as important. Goal importance moderates the link between optimism and interest in, and attendance at, treatment programs.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Dispositional optimism, a personality trait, is theorized to positively correlate with treatment engagement.
- Existing research presents conflicting findings on the optimism-engagement link.
- The moderating role of treatment goal importance has not been fully explored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the importance of a treatment goal moderates the association between dispositional optimism and treatment engagement.
- To examine the relationship between optimism and interest/attendance in specific treatment programs.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted with a total of 186 participants.
- Study 1 assessed interest in a nutrition program, highlighting nutrition's importance.
- Study 2 examined psychotherapy attendance for academic problems, varying the perceived importance of the problem.
Main Results:
- In Study 1, high optimism predicted greater interest when nutrition importance was emphasized.
- In Study 2, optimism was linked to higher treatment attendance when participants deemed their academic problems highly important.
- Treatment goal importance significantly moderated the relationship between dispositional optimism and engagement.
Conclusions:
- Dispositional optimism does influence interest and attendance in treatment programs.
- The impact of optimism on treatment engagement is contingent upon the perceived importance of the treatment goals.
- An interactionist perspective, considering both personality and situational factors, is recommended for understanding treatment engagement.
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