Stability and change of optimism and pessimism in late midlife and old age across three independent studies.

Research across a number of different areas in psychology has long shown that optimism and pessimism are predictive of a number of important future life outcomes. Despite a vast literature on the correlates and consequences, we know very little about how optimism and pessimism change across adulthood and old age and the sociodemographic factors that are associated with individual differences in such trajectories. In the present study, we conducted (parallel) analyses of standard items from the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985) in three comprehensive data sets: Two-wave data from both the Berlin Aging Study II (N = 1,423, aged 60-88; M = 70.4, SD = 3.70) and the Midlife in the U.S. Study (N = 1,810 aged 60-84; M = 69.12, SD = 6.47) as well as cross-sectional data from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement (N = 17,087, aged 60-99; M = 70.19, SD = 7.53). Using latent change-regression models and locally weighted smoothing curves revealed that optimism is on average very stable after age 60, with some evidence in Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement of lowered optimism in very old age. Consistent across the three independent studies, pessimism evinced on average modest increases, ranging between .25 and .50 SD per 10 years of age. Of the sociodemographic factors examined, higher levels of education revealed the most consistent associations with lower pessimism, whereas gender evinced more study-specific findings. We take our results to demonstrate that age-related trajectories and correlates thereof differ for optimism and pessimism. Older adults appear to preserve into older ages those levels of optimistic expectations they have had at 60 years of age and show only modest increases in pessimism. We discuss possible reasons for these findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Personality, cognitive ability, and academic performance: Differential associations across school subjects and school tracks.

AIM: Personality traits and cognitive ability are well-established predictors of academic performance. Yet, how consistent and generalizable are the associations between personality, cognitive ability, and performance? Building on theoretical arguments that trait-performance relations should vary depending on the demands and opportunities for trait expression in the learning environment, we investigated whether the associations of personality (Big Five) and cognitive ability (fluid intelligence) with academic performance (grades and tests scores) vary across school subjects (German and math) and across ability-grouped school tracks (academic, intermediate, and vocational). METHOD: Multiple group structural equation models in a large representative sample of ninth-grade students (N = 12,915) from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). RESULTS: Differential associations across school subjects emerged for cognitive ability, Emotional Stability, and Conscientiousness (math > German); and for Openness and Extraversion (German > math). Differential associations across school tracks emerged for cognitive ability, Conscientiousness (academic > intermediate > vocational) and Agreeableness (academic > intermediate > vocational). Personality traits explained more variation in academic performance in the academic than in the other tracks. CONCLUSION: Most trait-performance relations varied across subjects, tracks, or both. These findings highlight the need for more nuanced and context-minded perspective on trait-performance relations.

Personality-achievement associations in adolescence-examining associations across grade levels and learning environments.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined associations between the five-factor personality traits and indicators of academic achievement (grades and test scores). A particular aim was to investigate whether personality-achievement associations differ between primary and secondary educational contexts and whether these differences vary between differential learning environments, that is academic versus nonacademic secondary schools. METHOD: We used two representative random samples from Germany: N = 3,658 6th graders in their last year of primary school and N = 2,129 9th graders attending different secondary school tracks (n = 566 academic track students; n = 1,563 nonacademic track students). RESULTS: First, our results confirmed positive associations between Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness and academic achievement as well as negative associations between academic achievement and Neuroticism. Second, associations with Conscientiousness were more pronounced for school grades than for test scores. Third, associations were higher for 6th than for 9th graders in the overall sample for all personality traits with the exception of Openness. Fourth, personality-achievement associations differed between academic and nonacademic track students. CONCLUSION: In sum, our results suggest the need for an educational stage-specific perspective and contextually sensitive approach when examining personality-achievement associations.

Childhood intelligence, family background, and gender as drivers of socioeconomic success: The mediating role of education.

What drives socioeconomic success within a society? This study analyzes how late childhood intelligence, parental socioeconomic background, and gender relate to multiple dimensions of adult socioeconomic success (i.e., education, occupational status, and income). A particular focus is placed on education, which is considered as both an indicator of socioeconomic success and a mediator of the relationships with the other dimensions. Randomly sampled participants (N = 5,292) in a German prospective longitudinal study were assessed for the first time at age 12 years in 1991 and for the last time as adults in 2009-10. Comparison of the effects of childhood intelligence and parental socioeconomic background revealed childhood intelligence to be the more powerful predictor of the 3 dimensions of later adult socioeconomic success. Education was the strongest predictor of both later adult occupational status and later adult income, and mediated most of the effects of childhood intelligence and parental socioeconomic background on later adult occupational status and later adult income. A gender income gap was apparent, with men reporting higher income, even when childhood factors and education were controlled. Education barely mediated any gender differences, but family-related structural factors (i.e., working part time and having children) explained much of the gender gap in income. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Why are you so optimistic? Effects of sociodemographic factors, individual experiences, and peer characteristics on optimism in early adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Although a growing body of research has confirmed the manifold advantages of being an optimist, only a limited body of previous research has addressed the antecedents of optimism in real-life situations. This study examined whether parental socioeconomic status (SES), age-salient experiences (i.e., doing well in school and perceiving acceptance from peers), and aspects of the student composition at school contribute to changes in the optimism of early adolescents. METHOD: We followed a large sample of German seventh graders (N = 7,272; 52.9% females; baseline Mage = 14.1) at two measurement points over a period of 5 months and estimated latent regression models. RESULTS: First, optimism showed medium-sized rank-order stability between both measurement points. Second, parental SES predicted changes in optimism, but this effect was fully mediated by age-salient experiences. Third, positive age-salient experiences (i.e., academic achievement and perceived peer acceptance) predicted positive changes in early adolescents' optimism. Fourth, our results suggested no effects of school peer composition. CONCLUSIONS: The findings broaden our current knowledge about antecedents of changes in optimism during early adolescence by highlighting the effects of positive age-salient experiences, namely, academic achievement and perceived acceptance from peers.

Think Positive? Examining the Impact of Optimism on Academic Achievement in Early Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: Although optimism's beneficial role for various life areas is well documented, previous findings regarding its significance for students' achievement at school are inconclusive. This study examined the relation between optimism and academic achievement in early adolescents. It investigated the functional form of this relation, addressed whether the initial achievement level moderates this association, and compared this with effects on self-esteem. METHOD: We used a large German sample (N = 6,010; 53.2% females; baseline Mage = 14.1) with two measurement points over a period of 5 months (middle and end of 7th grade). Estimating LOESS curves and latent change-regression models revealed three main findings. RESULTS: (a) Optimism showed a nonlinear association with subsequent changes in academic achievement: Optimism promoted academic achievement, but this positive association reached a plateau in above-average optimism ranges and a minimum value in below-average ranges of optimism. (b) The achievement level at t1 moderated this relation so that high optimism exerted a more positive effect for high-achieving adolescents. (c) By contrast, optimism had an overall positive effect on self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: The results therefore broaden the evidence on benefits of optimism by linking optimism to academic success in early adolescents but indicate only small and nonlinear associations.

Anxiety in late adulthood: Associations with gender, education, and physical and cognitive functioning.

Anxiety is common in late adulthood and can complicate adjustment in several areas. This study used data from 2 measurement points of a representative European longitudinal study (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) with a large sample size (N = 28,326) and a broad age range (45-90) to examine age effects on cross-sectional mean levels of anxiety as well as longitudinal mean-level changes over 2 years with respect to gender, education, and changes in physical and cognitive functioning. Furthermore, we analyzed generalizability of the findings for different European countries. Latent change models and locally weighted smoothing curves revealed 3 main findings: (1) Mean levels of anxiety were relatively stable over the course of middle adulthood and increased during late adulthood, (2) women and individuals with less education were more anxious than men and individuals with more education, and (3) increases in anxiety in late adulthood were associated with age-associated losses in physical and cognitive functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record