Differential Effects of Optimism and Pessimism on Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Roles of Reappraisal and Acceptance

Rong Zou; Xiaobin Hong; Gaoxia Wei; Xia Xu; Jiajin Yuan

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127067

Differential Effects of Optimism and Pessimism on Adolescents' Subjective Well-Being: Mediating Roles of Reappraisal and Acceptance

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 9;19(12):7067. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127067.

Authors

Rong Zou¹, Xiaobin Hong¹, Gaoxia Wei^{2

3

4}, Xia Xu¹, Jiajin Yuan⁵

Affiliations

¹ Hubei Key Laboratory of Sport Training and Monitoring, Department of Psychology, College of Health Science, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan 430079, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁵ Institute of Brain and Psychological Science, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610066, China.

Abstract

Prior research has found the differential strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting physical health. However, whether similar findings would be obtained in predicting subjective well-being and the possible underlying mechanisms are still unclear. This study examined the relative strength of optimism and pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction and depression, and further explored the possible mediating mechanisms from the perspective of emotion regulation. A sample of 2672 adolescents (M_age = 13.54 years, SD = 1.04; 55.60% boys) completed a survey assessing optimism and pessimism, the habitual use of reappraisal and acceptance strategies, life satisfaction, and depression. The results from dominance analysis revealed that the presence of optimism was more powerful than the absence of pessimism in predicting adolescent life satisfaction, while the absence of pessimism was more powerful than the presence of optimism in predicting adolescent depression. Moreover, mediation models showed that reappraisal and acceptance mediated both the link between optimism and life satisfaction and the link between pessimism and depression. These findings suggest possible avenues for intervening in different aspects of adolescent subjective well-being.

Keywords: acceptance; adolescent; depression; life satisfaction; optimism; pessimism; reappraisal.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Female
Humans
Male
Optimism / psychology
Pessimism* / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

This work was funded by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 31971018 and 81971661; Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, grant number GJ202001; Educational Science Planning Project of Hubei Province, grant number 2020GB056; Research on Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Department of Education, Hubei Province, grant number 19Q155; the Research Fund Project of Wuhan Sports University, grant number 2021Z01; Young and Middle-aged Scientific Research Team of Wuhan Sports University in 2021, grant number 21KT06; Hubei Superior Discipline Group of Exercise and Brain Science from Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Period: 2021–2025); and the East Lake Scholar Program of Wuhan Sports University, China (Period: July 2017–July 2022).