Abstract
Evidence suggests that optimism may be protective for health during stress, yet the underlying mechanisms are only poorly understood. In the realm of examination stress, optimistic expectation relates to the likelihood of successfully passing exams. We employed a repeated measures design to investigate the effects of academic stress and optimistic expectation on several subpopulations of T cells. A total of five blood samples were obtained from 20 students (five and two weeks before, the first day of and two and three weeks after the examination period). Participants were divided by median split on an Expectation of Success scale. There were significant stress-induced changes and a significant time × group interaction for relative percentage of T helper (T CD4) and T cytotoxic (T CD8) cells. High Expectation of Success went along with an significant increase of T CD4 cell percentage and a decrease of T CD8 cell percentage two and three weeks after examination period (all p ’s
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