Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1990

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education

Major Professor

Robert L. Williams

Committee Members

Mark Hector, Ken Newton, Karen Swander

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between the constructs of Dispositional Optimism and Meaning and Purpose in Life among the elderly. These constructs emerged as germane to literature in Gerontology, Health Psychology, and Viktor Frankl's theory of logotherapy. While each of these literature domains offers sufficient evidence for the salience of the research hypothesis presented here, a more powerful conceptual base is established when they are reviewed in combination. Evidence of a relationship between these constructs could potentially impact the areas of psychoneuroimmunology and self-management education with the elderly, as well as suggest potent areas of attention for psychotherapy. Dispositional Optimism and Life Meaning and Purpose were assessed by two instruments, the Life Orientation Test (LOT) and the Life Attitude Profile (LAP), respectively. Subjects ranged in age from 62 to 105. All participants were residents of the unassisted living quarters in the Judson Park Retirement Community in Cleveland, Ohio. Correlation and regression analyses revealed (a) a significant correlation between the LOT and the LAP subscales of Life Purpose, Life Control, Future Meaning to Fulfill, Will to Meaning, Existential Vacuum, and Death Acceptance, (b) LOT scores could be predicted by scores on the LAP subscales of Life Purpose, Existential Vacuum, and Death Acceptance. Although this research was exploratory in nature, these results represent groundbreaking evidence of a significant relationship between Dispositional Optimism and Life Meaning and Purpose in the elderly.

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