Optimism, well-being, depressive symptoms, and perceived physical health: a study among Stroke survivors

The investigation of the relation of positive personality characteristics to mental and physical health among Stroke survivors has been a neglected area of research. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between optimism, well-being, depressive symptoms, and perceived physical health among Stroke survivors. It was hypothesized that Stroke survivors' optimism would explain variance in their physical health above and beyond the variance explained by demographic variables, diagnostic variables, and mental health. One hundred seventy-six Stroke survivors (97 females, 79 males) completed the Revised Life Orientation Test, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, two items on perceived physical health from the 36-item Short Form of the Medical Outcomes study, and the Identity scale of the Illness Perception Questionnaire. Pearson correlations, hierarchical regression analyses, and the PROCESS approach to determining mediators were used to assess hypothesized relations between variables. Stroke survivors' level of optimism explained additional variance in overall health in regression models controlling for demographic and diagnostic variables, and mental health. Analyses revealed that optimism played a partial mediator role between mental health (well-being, depressive symptoms and total score on CES-D) variables and overall health.