Optimism/pessimism and health-related quality of life during pregnancy across three continents: a matched cohort study in China, Ghana, and the United States

Abstract

BackgroundLittle is known about how optimism/pessimism and health-related quality of life compare across cultures.MethodsThree samples of pregnant women in their final trimester were recruited from China, Ghana, and the United States (U.S.). Participants completed a survey that included the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R, an optimism/pessimism measure), the Short Form 12 (SF-12, a quality of life measure), and questions addressing health and demographic factors. A three-country set was created for analysis by matching women on age, gestational age at enrollment, and number of previous pregnancies. Anovas with post-hoc pairwise comparisons were used to compare results across the cohorts. Multivariate regression analysis was used to create a model to identify those variables most strongly associated with optimism/pessimism.ResultsLOT-R scores varied significantly across cultures in these samples, with Ghanaian pregnant women being the most optimistic and least pessimistic and Chinese pregnant women being the least optimistic overall and the least pessimistic in subscale analysis. Four key variables predicted approximately 20% of the variance in overall optimism scores: country of origin (p = .006), working for money (p = .05); level of education (p = .002), and ever being treated for emotional issues with medication (p < .001). Quality of life scores also varied by country in these samples, with the most pronounced difference occurring in the vitality measure. U.S. pregnant women reported far lower vitality scores than both Chinese and Ghanaian pregnant women in our sample.ConclusionThis research raises important questions regarding what it is about country of origin that so strongly influences optimism/pessimism among pregnant women. Further research is warranted exploring underlying conceptualization of optimism/pessimism and health related quality of life across countries.

Optimism and other psychosocial influences on antenatal depression: A systematic review

“…Research about factors that influence optimism in pregnant women has been international. Across cultures, support of a relationship between education level and optimism has been documented by Moyer et al . (2009).…”

“…Research about factors that influence optimism in pregnant women has been international. Across cultures, support of a relationship between education level and optimism has been documented by Moyer et al (2009). Optimism levels in women from the USA, Ghana, and China were found to vary with education levels, countries of origin, numbers of previous deliveries, and whether or not women had paid employment.…”

“…Many of the risk factors for AND relate to psychosocial factors in a woman's life, such as stress and social support (Lobel et al ., 2000; Blaney et al ., 2004; Glazier et al ., 2004; Jesse et al ., 2005; Records & Rice, 2007; Reid et al ., 2009; Dunkel Schetter, 2011). Other psychosocial variables, such as optimism, might prevent or decrease the severity of AND, but continued research is needed to inform the development of interventions utilizing such variables (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Lobel et al ., 2000; Seligman et al ., 2005; Moyer et al ., 2009).…”

Impacts of anastomotic complications on the health‐related quality of life after esophagectomy

“…The difference may be culture‐dependent. Chinese women are likely to be more pessimistic and worse psychosocial adaptation even receiving curative surgery, resulting in poorer postoperative performance. Adjuvant chemotherapy could improve survival of patients with lymph node positive esophageal carcinoma .…”

Arginine and Asymmetric Dimethylarginine in Pregnant Women With Major Depression

“…(24) The LOT-R is a validated instrument to determine individual differences in optimism/pessimism and has been shown to have high reliability among pregnant women. (25) The PSQI is an 18-item questionnaire used to assess habitual sleep quality over the previous month. Higher scores reflect poorer sleep quality and its psychometric properties have been validated in pregnant women.…”