Social and Developmental Predictors of Optimism from Infancy to Early Adulthood

The positive effects of dispositional optimismon mental and physical health are welldocumented, but little is known about itsdevelopmental origins. The presentpopulation-based longitudinal study of youngadults (n = 8673) examined predictors ofoptimism that were related to early childhoodfamily conditions, school achievementin middle childhood, education, and work statusin early adulthood. As theoreticalstarting points, previous research on otherrelated positive psychological constructs,previous research on depression, and life spanresearch were used. The results showedthat the wantedness of the child, the father'ssocioeconomic status and changes in it,school achievement, vocational education andwork history predicted significantlyoptimism at 31 years. A good financialsituation and being married were stronglyassociated with optimism at 31 years.