Personality and quality of life: the importance of optimism and goal adjustment.

Full Abstract

This article concerns the relations between personality and quality of life. In the first part, we discuss different conceptualizations of personality and quality of life. We argue that personality affects quality of life by influencing how people approach and react to critical life situations. In the second part, we address the beneficial role played by two individual difference variables in promoting quality of life:
dispositional optimism and goal adjustment. Literature is reviewed demonstrating that dispositional optimism facilitates subjective well-being and good health, mediated by a person's coping behaviors. In addition, we discuss studies that examine people who confront unattainable goals. The reported evidence supports the conclusion that individual differences in people's abilities to adjust to unattainable goals are associated with a good quality of life.

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Author information

Author/s: Wrosch, Carsten (C); Scheier, Michael F (MF);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada. wrosch(-atsign-)vax2.concordia.ca

Grants: P50 HL65111 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; P50 HL65112 (Agency:NHLBI NIH HHS) ; R01 CA64711 (Agency:NCI NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.; Review

Journal: Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation (Qual Life Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-; vol 12 Suppl 1 (issue ) : pp 59-72

Dates: Created 2003/06/13; Completed 2003/07/09; Revised 2007/11/14;

PMID: 12803312, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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