Dispositional optimism buffers combat veterans from the negative effects of warzone stress on mental health symptoms and work impairment

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Volumn 67, Issue 9, 2011, Pages 866-880

  Thomas, Jeffrey L ^a   Britt, Thomas W ^b   Odle Dusseau, Heather ^c   Bliese, Paul D ^a  

^a WALTER REED ARMY INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH   (United States)

^b CLEMSON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c GETTYSBURG COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

Combat exposure; Deployment demands; Depression; Dispositional optimism; PTSD; Warzone stress; Work impairment

Indexed keywords

ADULT; ARTICLE; ATTITUDE; DEPRESSION; EPIDEMIOLOGY; FEMALE; HUMAN; MALE; MENTAL DISEASE; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST; PERSONALITY; PHYSIOLOGY; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; SOLDIER; VETERAN; WAR;

ADULT; ATTITUDE; COMBAT DISORDERS; DEPRESSION; EFFECT MODIFIER, EPIDEMIOLOGIC; FEMALE; HUMANS; IRAQ WAR, 2003 -; MALE; MENTAL DISORDERS; MILITARY PERSONNEL; NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS; PERSONALITY; STRESS DISORDERS, POST-TRAUMATIC; VETERANS; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 79961127868     PISSN: 00219762     EISSN: 10974679     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/jclp.20809     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Adler, A.B., Bliese, P.D., Mcgurk, D., Hoge, C.W., & Castro, C.A. (2009). Battlemind debriefing and Battlemind training as early interventions with soldiers returning from Iraq: Randomization by platoon. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 77, 928-940.
2. Adler, D.A., McLaughlin, T.J., Rogers, W.H., Hong, C., Lapitsky, L., & Lerner, D. (2006). Job performance deficits due to depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 1569-1576.
3. Affleck, G., & Tennen, H. (1996). Construing benefits from adversity: Adaptatinal signficance and dispositional underpinnings. Journal of Personality, 64, 899-922.
4. Ai, A.L., Santangelo, L.K., & Cascio, T. (2006). The traumatic impact of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the potential protection of optimism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 689-700.
5. Alim, T.N., Feder, A., Graves, R.E., Wang, Y., Weaven, J., Westphal, M., ..., Charney, D.S. (2008). Trauma, resilience, and recovery in a high-risk African-American population. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 1566-1575.
6. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
7. Aspinwall, L.G., & Richter, L. (1999). Optimism and self-mastery predict more rapid disengagement from unsolvable tasks in the presence of alternatives. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 221-245.
8. Aspinwall, L.G., & Taylor, S.E. (1992). Modeling cognitive adaptation: A longitudinal investigation of the impact of individual differences and coping on college adjustment and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 989-1003.
9. Atienza, A.A., Stephens, M.A.P., & Townsend, A.L. (2004). Role stressors as predictors of changes in womens' optimistic expectations. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 471-484.
10. Bliese, P. (2000). Within-group agreement, non-independence, and reliability. In K. Klein & S. Kozlowski (Eds.), Multi-level theory, research, and methods in organizations (pp. 349-381). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
11. Bliese, P.D., & Hanges, P.J. (2004). Being both too liberal and too conservative: The perils of treating grouped data as though they were independent. Organizational Research Methods, 7, 400-417.
12. Bliese, P.D., Wright, K.M., Adler, A.B., Cabrera, O., Castro, C.A., & Hoge, C.W (2008). Validating the primary care posttraumatic stress disorder screen and the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist with soldiers returning from combat. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 272-281.
13. Booth, B.M., Blow, F.C., & Cook, C.A.L. (1998). Functional impairment and co-occuring psychiatric disorders in medically hospitalized men. Archives of Internal Medicine, 158, 1551-1559.
14. Bonanno, G.A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience-have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59, 20-28.
15. Brissette, I., Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (2002). The role of optimism and social network development, coping, and psychological adjustment during a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 102-111.
16. Bryk, A.S., & Raudenbush, S.W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
17. Carver, C.S., Lehman, J.M., & Antoni, M.H. (2003). Dispositional pessimism predicts illness-related disruption of social and recreational activities among breast cancer patients. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 813-821.
18. Chang, E.C., & Sanna, L.J. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and positive and negative affectivity in middle-aged adults: A test of a cognitive-affective model of psychological adjustment. Psychology and Aging, 16, 524-531.
19. Chang, E.C., & Sanna, L.J. (2003). Experience of life hassles and psychological adjustment adolescents: Does it make a different if one is optimistic or pessimistic? Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 867-879.
20. Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S.G., & Aiken, L.S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21. Dobie, D.J., Kivlahan, D.R., Maynard, C, Bush, K.R., Davis, T.M., & Bradley, K.A. (2004). Posttraumatic stress disorder in female veterans-association with self-reported health problems and functional impairment. Archives of Internal Medicine, 164, 394-400.
22. Foley, D.L., Neale, M.C., Gardner, C., Pickles, A., & Kendler, K.S. (2003). Major depression and associated impairment: Same or different genetic and environmental risk factors. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 2128-2133.
23. Giltay, E.J., Geleijnse, J.M., Zitman, F.G., Hoekstra, T., & Schouten, E.G. (2004). Dispositional optimism and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a prospective cohort of elderly Dutch men and women. Archives of General Psychiatry, 61, 1126-1135.
24. Hirsch, J.K., & Connor, K.R. (2006). Dispositional and explanatory style optimism as potential moderators of the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 36, 661-669.
25. Hirsch, J.K., Wolford, K., LaLonde, S.M., Brunk, L., & Morris, A.P. (2007). Dispositional optimism as a moderator of the relationship between negative life events and suicide ideation and attempts. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 31, 533-546.
26. Hoge, C.W., Castro, C.A., Messer, S.C., Mcgurk, D., Cotting, D.I., & Koffman, R.L. (2004). Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems and barriers to care. New England Journal of Medicine, 351, 13-22.
27. Kessler, R.C., & Frank, R.G. (1997). The impact of psychiatric disorders on work loss days. Psychological Medicine, 27, 861-873.
28. King, L.A., King, D.W., Bolton, E.E., Knight, J.A., & Vogt, D.S. (2008). Risk factors for mental, physical, and functional health in Gulf War veterans. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45, 395-407.
29. Lai, J.C.L. (2009). Dispositional optimism buffers the impact of daily hassles on mental health in Chinese adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 247-249.
30. Milliken, C.S., Auchterlonie, J.L., & Hoge, C.W. (2007). Longitudinal assessment of mental health problems among active and reserve component soldiers returning from the Iraq war. Journal of the American Medical Association, 298, 2141-2148.
31. Nes, L.S., & Segerstrom, S.C. (2006). Dispositional optimism and coping: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 235-251.
32. Park, C.L., Cohen, L.H., & Murch, R.L. (1996). Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth. Journal of Personality, 64, 71-105.
33. R Development Core Team. (2010). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. Available at:
34. Riolli, L., & Savicki, V. (2003). Optimism and coping as moderators of the relationship between chronic stress and burnout. Psychological Reports, 92, 1215-1226.
35. Ryff, C.D., Singer, B., Dienberg Love, G., & Essex, M.J. (1998). Resilience in adulthood and later life. In J. Lomranz (Ed.), Handbook of aging and mental health (pp. 69-96). New York: Plenum.
36. Scheier, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being-theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16, 201-228.
37. Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem)-a reevaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063-1078.
38. Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. In E.C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 189-216). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
39. Scheier, M.F., Weintraub, J.K., & Carver, C.S. (1986). Coping with stress: Divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1257-1264.
40. Segerstrom, S.C. (2007). Optimism and resources: Effects on each other and on health over 10 years. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 772-786.
41. Skodol, A.E., Gunderson, J.G., McGlashan, T.H., Dyck, I.R., Stout, R.L., Bender, D.S., ... Oldham, J.M. (2002). Functional impairment in patients with schizotypal, borderline, avoideant, or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159, 276-283.
42. Smith, T.C., Ryan, M.A.K., & Wingard, D.L. (2008). New onset and persistent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder self reported after deployment and combat exposures: Prospective population based U.S. military cohort study. British Medical Journal, 336, 366-371.
43. Spitzer, R.I., Kroenke, K., & Williams, J.B. (1999). Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: The PHQ primary care study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282, 1737-1744.
44. Tedeschi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (1996). The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455-471.
45. Terhakopian, A., Sinaii, N., Engel, C.C., Schnurr, P.P., & Hoge, C.W. (2008). Estimating population prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder: An example using the PTSD checklist. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 290-300.
46. Thomas, J.L., Wilk, J.E., Riviere, L.R., Mcgurk, D., Castro, C.A., & Hoge, C.W. (2010). The prevalence and functional impact of mental health problems among active component and National Guard soldiers 3 and 12 months following combat in Iraq. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67, 614-623.
47. Tomakowsky, J., Lumley, M.A., Markowitz, N., & Frank, C. (2001). Optimistic explanatory style and dispositional optimism in HIV-infected men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 51, 577-587.
48. U.S. Army Mental Health Advisory Team V Report. (2008). Department of the Army, Office of the Surgeon, Multinational Force-Iraq and Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army Medical Command, Operation Iraqi Freedom. Retrieved from
49. U.S. Army Mental Health Advisory Team VI Reports. (2009). Department of the Army, Office of the Surgeon, Multinational Force-Iraq and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, and Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Army Medical Command, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Retrieved from
50. Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Herman, D.S., Huska, J.A., & Keane, T.M. (2003). The PTSD checklist (PCL): reliability, validity, and diagnostic utility. Annual Meeting of International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, San Antonio, Texas.
51. Wilk, J.E., Thomas, J.L., Mcgurk, D., Riviere, L.A., Castro, C.A., & Hoge, C.W. (2010). Mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) during combat: Lack of association of blast mechanism with persistent postconcussive symptoms. Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 25, 9-14.