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The Correlational Direction Between Optimism And Pwb Essay

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This literature review set out to discover the correlational direction between Optimism and PWB. Optimism is defined as, a general expectancy that the future holds more positive than negative events (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994). Psychological well-being is conceptualised as the subjective quality of one’s life (Schweizer, Beck-Seyffer & Schneider, 1999), it comprises of six core concepts: Self-acceptance; Positive relations with others; Autonomy; Environmental mastery; Purpose in life and Personal growth (Ryff, 1989).
PWB is a concept worthy of study as previous literature has linked it to eudemonic happiness and optimal living (Ryff & Singer, 2008), as well as lower mortality in both healthy and disease populations (Chida & Steptoe, 2008) and lower risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly women (Ryff, Singer & Love, 2004). Previous research has linked to Optimism to PWB in multiple domains (Scheier & Carver, 1992; Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 2001) in both health related and non-health related populations. This review will evaluate relevant literature describing a link between Optimism and PWB in cancer, university and workplace populations. The effectiveness of an Optimism intervention and its potential application in a clinical setting will also be discussed. Cancer patients are a unique population that suffer immense life challenges, therefore research to improve PWB in this area is a worthy pursuit. Previous research done by Pinquart,

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