Abstract:

Objective: Approaching life with optimism and hope will increase one’s psychological well-being and quality of life. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the association between optimism and hope levels in adults on health-related quality of life in physical and mental areas. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at three different primary schools in Eskisehir with a sample of 674 parents of students. In order to collect data, a questionnaire consisting of 4 parts was formed after conducting a comprehensive literature review. The first part includes the sociodemographic characteristics of the parents, the second part of the health-related quality of life scale “Short Form 12 (SF-12)’’, the third part of the Life Orientation Test (LOT) and the fourth part ‘’Dispositional Hope Scale’’ questions. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis and multiple linear regression analyzes were used to evaluate the data. Results: The ages of participants ranged from 24 to 55 years, with a mean ± SD of 36.23 ± 4.49 years.The scores from the health-related quality of life Physical Component Summary (PCS) Score ranged from 25.0 to 63.2 with a median of 50.5, while the scores from the Mental Component Summary (MCS) Score ranged from 15.6 to 66.3 with a median of 49.5. When both scales were taken together into a regression model, the influence of the LOT on physical health disappeared, and the effect of the Dispositional Hope Scale continued. Conclusion: Optimism and hope are closely related to one’s state of health. In generally healthy groups, optimism and hope will reflect the tendency to stay away from negative emotions and cognitions in order to protect one’s health. It was concluded that in order to improve one’s quality of life and health, it is important to make optimism and hopefulness a part of life.

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