The Development And Intergenerational Transmission Of Dispositional Optimism In Late Childhood And Adolescence

Dispositional optimism is referred to individuals' generalized positive or negative expectancies about future outcomes.Although dispositional optimism is a cognitive construct,it can influence individuals' physical health,mental health as well as well-being.Especially when environment changed or situations were stressful,dispositional optimism has been shown to be a robust predictor of positively adaptive outcomes.Childhood and adolescence are periods of rapid biological,social,and psychological changes.These changes would inevitably bring pressure to children and adolescents.As one key component of positive psychological capital,dispositional optimism has protective effects in youth's social and emotional development by buffering adverse influences from pressure,and also has promoting effects by helping children and adolescents to develop effective strategies for coping with difficulties.Although numerous studies have demonstrated the positive effects of dispositional optimism in youth's and even adults' flourishing and adaptive functioning,few studies have examined age differences in dispositional optimism in childhood and adolescence,and fewer studies explored intergenerational transmission of dispositional optimism and its potential mechanisms from family context.Undoubtedly,clarifying these issues could help to cultivate and develop youth's dispositional optimism better.Using a cross-sectional design and a variety of statistical analysis methods,we first tested the applicability of the measuring instrument for youth's dispositional optimism in late childhood and adolescence.On this basis,we further explored age differences in the structure and mean level of dispositional optimism.Then,we investigated the relationship between parents' dispositional optimism and their children's dispositional optimism,testing whether the intergenerational transmission of dispositional optimism existed.At last,we explored the possible underlying mechanisms of the intergenerational transmission from the aspects of parenting style and parent-child relationship.The main results of the present research were as follows:1 The applicability of the measuring instrument of dispositional optimism in children and adolescentsWe tested whether the Chinese version of the Life Orientation Test-Revised(CLOT-R),which was used to measure the dispositional optimism of middle school students,was also applicative in youth during late childhood and adolescence.Results revealed that when CLOT-R was used to measure dispositional optimism in youth from grade 4 to 11,it supported a bi-dimensional structure(i.e.,optimism and pessimism).Moreover,the bi-dimensional structure of dispositional optimism was similar in each grade.The reliability and validity of the scale in the sample of youth from grade 4 to 11 also reached the standards of psychometrics.Hence,this measuring instrument was applicative for measuring dispositional optimism in Chinese youth during late childhood and adolescence.2 The development of dispositional optimism in late childhood and adolescenceIn the development of structure,the dispositional optimism in late childhood and adolescence consisted two factors(i.e.,optimism and pessimism),and the bi-dimensional structure was similar in each grade,which indicated that the structure of dispositional optimism remained relatively stable during late childhood and adolescence.In the developmental trajectories,youth's optimism had a negative linear pattern with age;pessimism decreased from strongly to weakly,showing a curvilinear pattern with age;overall optimism(representing the presence of optimism and the lack of pessimism)had a positive linear relationship with age.Moreover,only the development of pessimism was moderated by gender and family socioeconomic status:pessimism of boys or students from adversity would decrease more slowly with age.3 The effect of intergenerational transmission in dispositional optimismOn the whole,the effect of intergenerational transmission in dispositional optimism did exist.Compared to the influence of mother's dispositional optimism,the influence of father's dispositional optimism on children's dispositional optimism was greater.The effect of intergenerational transmission in dispositional optimism was not moderated by children's gender,but would be stronger with children's age.4 The underlying mechanisms of intergenerational transmission in dispositional optimismThe intergenerational transmission in dispositional optimism was realized partially by the mediating roles of parents' authoritative parenting and authoritarian parenting,while the mediating effect of permissive parenting was not significant.In addition,parent-child relationship significantly moderated the path from parenting style to offspring's dispositional optimism.Specifically,the association between father's dispositional optimism and offspring's dispositional optimism was mediated by father's authoritarian parenting,and the mediating effect of father's authoritarian parenting was moderated by father-offspring relationship,with the mediating effect being stronger for youth with good father-offspring relationship than for those with bad father-offspring relationship.The association between mother's dispositional optimism and offspring's dispositional optimism was mediated by mother's authoritative parenting,and the mediating effect of mother's authoritative parenting was moderated by mother-offspring relationship,with the mediating effect being stronger for youth with good mother-offspring relationship than for those with bad mother-offspring relationship.