TY - JOUR
T1 - Seligman's theory of attributional style
T2 - Optimism, pessimism, and quality of life after heart transplant
AU - Jowsey, Sheila
AU - Cutshall, Susanne
AU - Colligan, Robert
AU - Stevens, Susanna
AU - Kremers, Walter
AU - Vasquez, Adriana
AU - Edwards, Brooks
AU - Daly, Richard
AU - McGregor, Christopher
PY - 2012/3/1
Y1 - 2012/3/1
N2 - Context-Posttransplant quality of life can be significantly affected by personality characteristics identified before transplant.Objective-Although overall quality of life in heart transplant patients improves after transplant, many studies reveal poorer mental health outcomes after transplant. We aimed to determine whether transplant recipients with an optimistic explanatory style had improved quality of life, fewer depressive symptoms, and increased survival.Design-We reviewed 68 patients who had completed a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory a mean of 2 years before transplant and examined associations between scores on the Optimism-Pessimism scale, survival rates, and results from the Health Status Questionnaire nearly 4 years after transplant.Results-Optimism was significantly associated with higher quality of life even after age (at the time of transplant), sex, depression score before transplant, time from the personality inventory to transplant, and time from transplant to the Health Status Questionnaire were controlled for. Furthermore, a pessimistic explanatory style was significantly associated with self-reported depressive symptoms, even after depression before transplant was adjusted for. Neither optimism nor pessimism was associated with length of survival.Conclusions-Pretransplant patients with a pessimistic explanatory style reported depressive symptoms nearly 5 years later. Furthermore, over the same time span, patients with an optimistic explanatory style described a significantly higher quality of life than the pessimists described.
AB - Context-Posttransplant quality of life can be significantly affected by personality characteristics identified before transplant.Objective-Although overall quality of life in heart transplant patients improves after transplant, many studies reveal poorer mental health outcomes after transplant. We aimed to determine whether transplant recipients with an optimistic explanatory style had improved quality of life, fewer depressive symptoms, and increased survival.Design-We reviewed 68 patients who had completed a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory a mean of 2 years before transplant and examined associations between scores on the Optimism-Pessimism scale, survival rates, and results from the Health Status Questionnaire nearly 4 years after transplant.Results-Optimism was significantly associated with higher quality of life even after age (at the time of transplant), sex, depression score before transplant, time from the personality inventory to transplant, and time from transplant to the Health Status Questionnaire were controlled for. Furthermore, a pessimistic explanatory style was significantly associated with self-reported depressive symptoms, even after depression before transplant was adjusted for. Neither optimism nor pessimism was associated with length of survival.Conclusions-Pretransplant patients with a pessimistic explanatory style reported depressive symptoms nearly 5 years later. Furthermore, over the same time span, patients with an optimistic explanatory style described a significantly higher quality of life than the pessimists described.
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U2 - 10.7182/pit2012451
DO - 10.7182/pit2012451
M3 - Article
C2 - 22489443
AN - SCOPUS:84861488715
SN - 1526-9248
VL - 22
SP - 49
EP - 55
JO - Progress in Transplantation
JF - Progress in Transplantation
IS - 1
ER -