The notion that optimistic expectations contribute to good health and pessimistic expectations contribute to poor health has long been a part of history. This hypothesis has increased interest in personality traits as risk factors among those seeking medical attention. A sub-group of this population, person’s diagnosed with seizure disorders, face a unique set of neurological and psychological challenges that may be aided by knowledge of the personality trait–risk factor association. The current investigation seeks to understand if the positive effects of optimism and the negative effects of pessimism observed in healthy populations also exist for individuals with chronic neurological and/or psychological conditions.
The aim of this study was to assess whether optimistic and pessimistic expectancies were associated with psychological and physical health in individuals diagnosed with right temporal lobe epilepsy (RTLE, n = 14), left temporal lobe epilepsy (LTLE, n = 25), and those diagnosed with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES, n = 70).
The results of this study suggest measures of optimism and pessimism to be strong predictors of quality of life. Another strong predictor was duration (length of time since diagnosis with condition), suggesting adaptation improves with time from diagnosis. Although duration was also associated with higher levels of objective disability, it appears this did not influence participants’ assessment of their own subjective well-being. The expectation that optimism or pessimism would help to predict objective health was not observed. Finally, optimism failed to demonstrate a stronger effect on objective health or quality of life for one diagnostic group relative to the other. Results have implications with regard to psychological interventions, treatment outcomes, and patient compliance among individuals with seizure disorders.