Optimism and Health-related Behaviour in Czech University Students and Adults

Abstract

The exploratory study, conducted as a part of a research project supported by the Czech Science Foundation (No. 13-19808S), attempted to shed more light on the interrelations between dispositional optimism/pessimism, explanatory style optimism/pessimism, defensive pessimism/strategic optimism, and health-related behaviour. The main objective was to test whether findings obtained on American population and several European samples concerning positive relationships between optimism and health-related activity, and between pessimism and passivity, can be replicated on a Czech sample. The analysis of data from 268 respondents aged between 16 and 96 did not confirm any significant associations between different types of optimism/pessimism and health behaviours except for one: Promotion of mental well-being was predicted by defensive pessimism and by optimistic explanatory style, especially the stability dimension. The study also addresses the complex interrelations between different optimism/pessimism constructs, health-related behaviour, and subjective health problems.

Chování související se zdravím: determinanty, modely a konsekvence

“…V rámci dříve publikovaných dílčích studií již byly prozkoumány vztahy chování souvisejícího se zdravím k optimismu a pesimismu (Dosedlová et al, 2015), změny v chování souvisejícím se zdravím v průběhu života , souvislosti zdraví podporujícího chování s duševním zdravím a životními hodnotami i osobnostní koreláty zdraví a s ním souvisejícího chování u adolescentů (Burešová et al, 2016).…”

“…V oblasti fyzické aktivity dosáhli nejlepších výsledků mladí dospělí, nejhorších výsledků dospělí středního věku. K obdobným výsledkům dospěla i řada dalších autorů (Dosedlová et al, 2015). V odborné literatuře bývají dále popisovány poměrně výrazné změny v chování ke zdraví v období tzv.…”

Assessment of Sugar-Related Dietary Patterns to Personality Traits, Cognitive-<span aria-describedby="tippy-27">Behavioural and Emotional Functioning in Women

“…The critical role plays stress-type personality, the surrounding emotions, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy [15,16]. Other studies emphasize the importance of internal locus of control, emotional maturity, resilience to stress, autonomy, low levels of anxiety and fear and high self-esteem [17,18]. Some researchers recognize that conscientiousness and agreeableness are associated with health-promoting behaviours, while neuroticism is associated with behaviours that harm health [19].…”

Association of Optimism and Health-Related Behavior with Mental Health in Czech Adolescents

“…Habits like dietary behavior and exercise begin in childhood but are established more permanently during adolescence (Cohen, Brownell, & Felix, 1990). Health-related behavior has been linked not only to health outcomes but also to optimism as their predictor (Yarcheski, Mahon, & Yarcheski, 2004;Dosedlová et al, 2015). Another important factor of mental health and subjective well-being, particularly in adolescence, is the amount and quality of social support provided by parents and peers.…”