Positive Future Expectations Research Articles

Religious savior-centered psychotherapy for depression: a focus on women’s well-being

ABSTRACT This study explores the effectiveness of Religious Savior-Centered Psychotherapy (RSCP) in treating depression in religious women. RSCP is a therapeutic approach that integrates Islamic teachings, particularly the concept of a Savior, with cognitive and behavioral strategies to address mental health challenges. Unlike traditional therapy models, RSCP emphasizes spiritual healing by fostering a strong connection to faith and a hopeful outlook for the future. The study aims to assess RSCP’s impact on depression in women by aligning with Islamic teachings and emphasizing positive future expectations. A pretest-posttest design with a two-month follow-up was employed to evaluate the effects of RSCP. The study included 70 women aged 18–60 from five counseling clinics in Tehran, all diagnosed with mild to moderate depression, and having expressed a belief in a Savior. MANCOVA was used to analyze the data, ensuring assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variances were met. MANCOVA results indicated a significant linear correlation between the treatment and depression levels (p < .05), with a large effect size (partial η2 = .61 for posttest and .54 for follow-up). Initial findings suggest RSCP’s potential benefit on mental well-being. RSCP has the potential to be integrated into existing mental health frameworks as a culturally sensitive option, particularly for Muslim women seeking faith-based approaches to mental health care. Future research with larger samples, randomized controlled trials, and longitudinal studies is needed to explore the effectiveness of this new positive psychotherapy approach.

Examining the Relationship Between Individual Innovativeness and Positive Future Expectation Levels of Physical Education Teacher Candidates

This study aimed to examine the effect of teacher candidates' individual innovativeness levels on their positive future expectations. A total of 412 teacher candidates, 194 women and 218 men, studying at sports science faculties of universities in Ankara, participated in the research. “Personal Information Form”, “Individual Innovativeness Scale” and “Positive Future Expectation Scale” were used in the data collection process. During the data analysis phase, Independent Samples T test, One Way ANOVA analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were used in the SPSS 25.0 program. The research found that the individual innovativeness levels and positive future expectations of the teacher candidates were above the medium level. It was found that the individual innovativeness levels and positive expectations of teacher candidates differ according to the type of university (public, private) and the class they study in (p &lt;0.05). It was observed that there was a positive relationship between the individual innovativeness level and positive future expectation among the teacher candidates participating in the research (p&lt;0.05), and it was also determined that the individual innovativeness level positively affected the positive future expectation (pz0.05). As a result, it can be said that the high level of individual innovativeness in teacher candidates is a factor that increases positive future expectations.

Does Grit and Perceived Social Support Predicts Adolescents' Future Expectations in COVID 19 Pandemic?

The purpose of this study is to determine the level of grit and perceived social support in predicting adolescents' future expectations during the pandemic period. The sample of the research conducted with the correlational model consisted of 573 high school students. Three scales were used together with the demographic information form created by the researchers to collect the data. The results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between positive future expectations and grit, and there is also a positive and significant relationship between positive future expectations and perceived social support. Finally, it was concluded that grit and perceived social support significantly predicted positive future expectations, while grit predicted positive future expectations at a higher level than perceived social support. These findings suggest that positive future expectations are associated with grit and perceived social support. Practitioners who want to positively influence adolescents' future expectations can assist them in these areas.

Being tolerated as a minority group member: an experimental study with virtual teams

ABSTRACT Research on the experience of being tolerated has focused on single events, ignoring the important question of whether the experience of being tolerated depends on previous experiences. We examined whether the experience of being tolerated has a negative impact on minority team members depending on whether they had previously been rejected or fully accepted. In a pre-registered study with 440 participants, we used a recently developed experimental paradigm to simulate workstyle minority status in virtual teams. These participants were randomly assigned to experience rejection or acceptance followed by being tolerated. Experiencing tolerance after rejection was strongly positive, reducing negative well-being, increasing positive future expectations about interactions with majority team members, and reducing people’s intention to withdraw from their teams. By contrast, experiencing tolerance after acceptance was weakly but consistently negative, with increased negative well-being, increased negative future expectations, and increased withdrawal intentions. Lastly, despite tolerance being more harmful than acceptance, that harmfulness did not translate into greater willingness to raise one’s voice and express discontent about not being valued.

The Predictors of Academic Motivation of University Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

Given the salience of personal and environmental-related factors in young people’s motivation during COVID-19, this study investigated if positive future expectations, social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, and perceived social support were related to university students’ intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivation and amotivation as well as if their academic motivations differed according to gender. Using a convenient sampling method, 805 university students (54% female) participated in the study in the spring semester of 2020-2021, during COVID-19 lockdowns. The results of multiple linear regression showed positive relations of positive future expectations and SEL skills with intrinsic and extrinsic academic motivations and negative relations with amotivation levels of university students. In addition, the results indicated a significant positive relationship between perceived social support and extrinsic motivation, yet no significant relation between intrinsic motivation and amotivation levels. Moreover, female students' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation levels were higher and their amotivation levels were lower than those of male students, with low effect sizes. The findings pointed to theoretical, research, and practical implications, which could be interpreted in a cultural context during COVID-19.

Explanation of the personality factor with the Enneagram in the selection of the specialty branch of the intern doctors

IntroductionPersonality characteristics have an important place in the choices of interns who are at the stage of deciding how their profession will be shaped in the future. While the Big 5 personality model has been widely used in evaluating the personality traits factor in career planning, the Enneagram has increased in popularity in recent years. In this study, it was aimed to investigate how senior medical students evaluate their professional future between these choices and the students’ personality types.Objectives Forms and scales were presented to 221 interns who agreed to participate in our study and were studying in their final year in the 2022-2023 period at three different faculties, two state universities and one private university in the Marmara Region in Turkey.MethodsThe sociodemographic data form, Enneagram Personality Types and Subtypes Inventory, and Positive Future Expectation Scale, prepared by the researchers and containing questions about the factors that may be effective in choosing medical specialization, obtained through a face-to-face pilot interview with ten students and literature review, were applied to the participants. Participants answered the forms and scales via ‘Google forms’.Results211 out of 221 participants, who did not constitute outliers, were included in the analysis. The mean age of the participants was 24.43 (S.E= 0.11)In terms of Enneagram typologies, Type 2 (39.3%) exhibited the highest prevalence, followed by Type 1 (13.3%), Type 6 (11.8%), and Type 7 (8.5%).Furthermore, a statistically significant relationship was found between specialization area and Enneagram types (Fisher exact &lt;.001, p&lt; .001). Post-hoc examinations highlighted specific associations, such as the relationship between Type 3 and Cardiovascular Surgery, Orthopedics and Traumatology; Type 4 and Pneumology, Psychiatry; Type 5 and PRC, Type 6 and Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Medical Microbiology; Type 7 and Cardiology; Type 8 and Pediatrics, Medical Biochemistry; and Type 9 and Family Medicine, Radiology, Psychiatry, Medical Pathology.ConclusionsWhen the results are evaluated, the highest rate of type 2 and type 1 of the Enneagram typology in senior medical faculty students supports the fact that the medical profession consists of responsible and principled people who love helping others. It is compatible with the character traits of people with type 9 who avoid stress and conflict, preferring the department to have a low workload, and turning to family medicine, radiology, psychiatry and medical pathology departments, which are estimated to have relatively fewer working hours and emergency applications.Our study suggests that this scale be used more widely, as the Enneagram typology, which is used in many professional and career choices, shows results compatible with the participants’ preferences in choosing a medical specialty.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Concept Analysis of Resilience in Adolescent Living with HIV: Review of Limitations and Implications

Resilience is characterized by ‘the ability to bounce back from challenge and adversity’. However, being Adolescent Living with HIV (ALHIV) give larger challenges on an individual throughout their life because of their characteristic and illness. After all, positive results such as resilience are also feasible, yet knowledge on resilience in ALHIV remains limited and resilience assessment methods continue to be debated and need further clarification of the concept of resilience is needed about this population. In recent years, empirical research on resilience has grown, criticism have been mostly concentrates on ambiguity definition and implications. This concept analysis aims to identify the concept of the resilience ALHIV by identifying the attributes that determine the concept, antecedents and consequences. This study tries to discover the traits that determine the concept of resilience in ALHIV using Walker and Avant’s approach, with searches performed in the CINAHL, PubMed, Science Direct and PsycInfo. The results of the analysis reveal the resilience antecedents of ALHIV such as coping strategy, illness acceptance, positive adaptation, self-efficacy, positive future expectation, emotional regulation, family support, school connectedness and healthcare support. The consequences of the concept of resilience in ALHIV include positive outcomes include improved adherence to treatment, psychological well-being, positive coping strategy, better school performance and positive social relationship.

POSITIVE THINKING FOR HUMAN RESOURCES AND ITS ROLE IN REDUCING JOB FRUSTRATION AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THE OPINIONS OF A SAMPLE OF EMPLOYEES AT AL-FURAT AL-AWSAT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

The current research aims to study the relationship and impact between positive thinking of human resources in its five dimensions (positive daily performance, positive self-evaluation, self-evaluation of others, positive future expectations, positive social performance) and job frustration in its four dimensions (aggressive job frustration, withdrawal, job rationalization, and fixation Career), where the research was applied to a sample of employees at Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, which included (104) employees at different job levels. The data were collected by means of the questionnaire and analyzed by the program (SPSS v.23). The research has reached results confirming the existence of a statistically significant correlation and impact between positive thinking of human resources and job frustration, and that positive thinking of human resources contributes to promoting better relations with co-workers and encourages more positive interactions, and one of the most important conclusions reached by the research where The senior management at Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University should adopt a special philosophy in positive thinking of human resources based on the adoption of functional features of positive thinking of the human resource in a reflective manner and purposeful and logical awareness so that employees are able to control their actions towards indicators of job frustration.

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Positive Future Expectations on Psychological Well-Being of College Students: Quiet Ego as A Mediator

The aim of this study was to examine the associations between positive future expectations, quiet ego, and psychological well-being among college students. It was hypothesized that there would be direct and indirect effects of positive future expectations on psychological well-being through quiet ego. The data was gathered from a sample consisting of 250 college students. Participants completed several instruments, namely, the Positive Future Expectation Scale, the Quiet Ego Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the demographic information form. The analyses revealed that there is a significant direct effect of positive future expectations on psychological wellbeing. It was also found that there is a significant indirect effect of positive future expectations on psychological wellbeing via quiet ego. The obtained findings were discussed within the context of existing research. This study contributes to the expanding body of literature on psychological well-being by demonstrating that the quiet ego serves as a factor in explaining how positive future expectations are connected to psychological well-being.

Associations between future health expectations and patient satisfaction after lumbar spine surgery: a longitudinal observational study of 9929 lumbar spine surgery procedures

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the associations between general health expectations and patient satisfaction with treatment for the two common spine surgery procedures diskectomy for lumbar disk herniation (LDH) and...

Fear of COVID-19, intolerance of uncertainty, psychological capital, and positive future expectations: Tests of mediating relationships with healthcare workers

COVID-19 has a profound impact on the mental health of healthcare workers, especially those combatting the disease. The current study examined the mediating role of psychological capital in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intolerance of uncertainty and positive future expectations in healthcare workers during the pandemic. 310 healthcare workers (51.9 % males, Mage = 34.2 ± 7.6) completed measures of fear of COVID-19, psychological capital, intolerance of uncertainty, and positive future expectations The results showed that fear of COVID-19 had a significant negative predictive impact on psychological capital and a significant positive predictive impact on intolerance of uncertainty. Psychological capital had a significant negative predictive impact on intolerance of uncertainty and a significant positive predictive impact on positive future expectations. Most importantly, the results indicated that psychological capital mediated the association of fear of COVID-19 with intolerance of uncertainty and positive future expectations. The results improve our understanding of the role of psychological capital in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and intolerance of uncertainty and positive future expectations. Also, results have possible wider implications for equipping healthcare workers with the psychological tools to cope with stressors, including those linked to public health threats such as pandemics.

ÜNİVERSİTE ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN PSİKOLOJİK SERMAYE SINIF BAĞLILIĞI VE OKULA YABANCILAŞMALARI ÜZERİNE NİTEL BİR İNCELEME

In this research, it is aimed to analyze the psychological capital, class connectedness and alienation of university students according to the views of students and instructors. According to the findings of the research conducted with the qualitative method, some of the factors that reduce the psychological capital of the students are; their concerns about the future, employment problems, and not knowing their profession. Some of the factors that increase their psychological capital are; students' positive future expectations, high motivation, self-confidence, physical endurance, communication power. According to the participants, some of the factors that reduce students' class connectedness are experiencing grouping, being closed to communication, finding people insincere, lack of joint activity; Some of the factors that increase students' classroom connectedness are being in different social environments, the effect of team sports, being friendly and learning from each other. According to the participants, some of the factors that reduce students' alienation from school are the belief in the benefits of the lessons, the equipment of the university, the management-instructor-student relationship; Some of the factors that increase the alienation of students from school are not choosing the department voluntarily, the location of the faculty to the campus, and the scarcity of social areas.

Early Child Adversity and Delinquent Behavior in Foster Care Youth: Do Future Expectations and Sexual Identity Moderate the Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress?

Delinquency in youth is a significant public health concern for individuals who experienced adversity and complex trauma as children. The present study explored the longitudinal associations between adverse child experiences and future engagement in delinquent behavior. Using a sample of 1,245 foster youth who are aging out of the child welfare system, mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analysis was used to test the mechanistic role of post-traumatic stress symptoms and the moderating role of sexual identity and positive future expectations on engagement in delinquent behavior. Results showed a positive and significant association between adverse child experiences and engagement in delinquent behavior. Post-traumatic stress symptoms partially mediated the ACEs-delinquency relationship. In addition, sexual minority youth and youth who were less optimistic about the future, but who experienced more ACEs, were at risk for heightened levels of post-traumatic stress. Interventions that promote positive future outlooks may minimize the psychological sequelae of early child adversity and delinquent behavior particularly when tailored to the needs of sexual minority youth.

High Social Mobility Leads to Delayed Reproduction.

Many important family decisions, such as when to have offspring, essentially manifest different life history strategies, ranging from slow to fast ones. The current research examined how one critical societal factor, social mobility (i.e., the shift of socioeconomic status in a society), may contribute to such slow (vs. fast) life history strategies. With four multi-method studies, including archival data at the national level, a large-sample survey (N = 6787), and experimental studies (N = 497), we found that a high level of social mobility predicted and resulted in delayed reproduction. Specifically, a high level of social mobility, indexed by both objective reality and subjective perception, predicted individuals' positive future expectations. This further leads them to focus on long-term goals and foster a slow life history strategy, i.e., preferring delayed reproduction. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Socioeconomic, Behavioural, and Social Health Correlates of Optimism and Pessimism in Older Men and Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Optimism is a disposition characterised by positive future expectancies, while pessimism is characterised by expecting the worst. High optimism and low pessimism promote the health of older adults and may potentiate full engagement in life. We identified socioeconomic, behavioural, and social factors associated with optimism and pessimism in older adults. Participants included 10,146 community-dwelling, apparently healthy Australian adults aged 70 years and over from the ASPREE Longitudinal Study of Older Persons (ALSOP). Optimism and pessimism were measured using the revised Life Orientation Test. Cross-sectional ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the socioeconomic, behavioural, and social health factors associated with optimism and pessimism. Higher education, greater physical activity, lower loneliness, and volunteering were associated with higher optimism and lower pessimism. Low social support was associated with higher pessimism. Higher socioeconomic advantage, greater income, and living alone were associated with lower pessimism. Women were more optimistic and less pessimistic than men. The association of age, smoking status, and alcohol consumption with optimism and pessimism differed for men and women. Factors associated with higher optimism and lower pessimism were also those demonstrated to support healthy ageing. Health-promotion action at the individual level (e.g., smoking cessation or regular physical activity), health professional level (e.g., social prescribing or improving access and quality of care for all older adults), and community level (e.g., opportunities for volunteer work or low-cost social activities for older adults) may improve optimism and reduce pessimism, possibly also promoting healthy ageing.

The effectiveness and equivalence of different versions of a brief online Best Possible Self (BPS) manipulation to temporary increase optimism and affect

Background and objectivesThe Best Possible Self (BPS) has been found to be an effective manipulation to temporarily improve optimism and affect. The BPS has been used in different formats. In some versions, participants just write about their best possible future, while in others this is combined with imagery. An imagery only version has not been tested yet. The aim of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of three different versions of the BPS and their equivalence in improving optimism and affect. MethodsIn an online study format, participants (N = 141) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) writing and imagery BPS; (2) writing BPS; (3) imagery BPS; and (4) a typical day (TD) control condition. ResultsResults showed that each BPS condition significantly improved optimism (i.e. increased positive future expectancies and decreased negative future expectancies) and affect (i.e. increased positive affect and decreased negative affect). Equivalence testing showed that all online BPS conditions were equivalent in increasing optimism and affect, thereby confirming that both the writing and imagery elements of the BPS can independently from each other increase optimism and positive affect in a healthy population. LimitationsOnly the immediate effects of the BPS formats on increasing optimism and affect were measured. ConclusionsThe BPS manipulation can be employed in different ways for potential future exploration, depending on the research question, design and context and/or E-mental health applications for the treatment of individuals suffering from psychological complaints.

Zadovoljstvo različitim aspektima života i pozitivna očekivanja od budućnosti kod srednjoškolaca - specifičan značaj zadovoljstva školom

The existing empirical subject matter testifies to a significant correlation between life satisfaction and positive future expectations among high school students. However, there is a lack of research situating more concretely the role of satisfaction with various aspects of life in relation to positive future expectations. Hence, this research focuses on the importance of satisfaction with various aspects of life among Belgrade high school students for their positive future expectations, with a particular emphasis on examining the role of school satisfaction. This research was conducted during the second semester of the 2021/22 academic year, on a sample of 215 Belgrade high school students. The results indicate that satisfaction with different aspects of life and satisfaction with life in general, have significant positive correlations with positive future expectations. Positive future expectations have the strongest correlation with self-satisfaction, while their lowest correlation is with school satisfaction. Despite its weak correlation with positive future expectations, satisfaction with school has proven to be a significant moderator of the strongest relationship identified - self-satisfaction and positive future expectations. In other words, the findings reached in this research point to the conclusion that activities planned in the context of the development of school satisfaction can compensate for the negative impact of self-satisfaction, prompting more positive future expectations. Considering that empirical endeavors so far have focused mostly on identifying a link with positive developmental outcomes, this research can serve as a starting point for a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms for encouraging positive future expectations among high school students.

Positive Future Expectancies: When Hopeful Thinking Contributes to Happiness in Children

ABSTRACT This research investigates positive future expectancies, particularly hope in children, which is comprised of agency thinking, perceiving oneself as capable of achieving goals, and pathways thinking, perceiving oneself as capable of discovering methods toward the desired goals. Two studies (n = 82) were conducted in the United States to examine the role of agency and pathways thinking in children’s trait and state happiness based on children’s self-reports and their parents reports of their children. In Study 1, dyads of typically developing children (Mage = 10.21 years) and their parents (Mage = 43.84 years) completed measures of hope and happiness. Study 2 extended Study 1 to include a diverse sample of children with chronic health conditions (Mage = 11.14 years) and their parents (Mage = 43.48 years). In Study 1, regression analyses revealed that children’s self-reports of agency thinking predict children’s trait and state happiness, p’s < .05. Contrastingly, in Study 2, regression analyses revealed that children’s self-reports of pathways thinking predict children’s self-reports of trait happiness, p < .001. Also, collectively, pathways thinking, agency thinking, and children’s age predict children’s state happiness, p = .025. In both studies, parents’ reports of their children’s hope were not significant predictors of children’s happiness. There also was not an association between parents’ perceptions of their children’s hope and happiness and their children’s self-reported levels. These findings elucidate the cognitive aspects of hope that promote happiness in childhood and advance understanding of the determinants of children’s happiness in the U.S.

Future expectations of adolescents in Residential Care: The role of self-perceptions

BackgroundThis study aims to analyze the role of some personal (gender, age, self-perceptions) and contextual variables (living in residential care [RC] vs family) related to developing positive future expectations (FE) among adolescents. MethodParticipants were 758 children aged between 12 and 18 years (46 were in RC, the remaining 712 were their classmates). Self-esteem, life satisfaction, and FE were evaluated. ResultsMost adolescents perceived their future positively. Girls and older children generally had more negative ratings. Children in RC had positive mean levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and FE, although significantly lower than those of their peers. Regression analysis showed that age, RC, self-esteem, and life satisfaction explain approximately 30% of global FE. The structural equation model indicated a direct relationship between self-perceptions (self-esteem and life satisfaction) and FE, whereas RC had an inverse relationship with self-perceptions. These relationships accounted for 59.8% of the total variance of FE. ConclusionsThis study identified individual and contextual factors involved in the development of positive FE during adolescence, focusing mainly on children placed in RC. The implications of these results are discussed for the design of interventions with this group.

Social support and positive future expectations, hope, and achievement among Latinx students: Implications by gender and special education

A cultural-ecological approach posits that multiple sources of relational support can contribute to youths’ strengths development. Some such strengths are positive future expectations (PFE) and hope, both of which represent beneficial, future-oriented cognitive-motivational constructs; however, they have not been fully explored among Latinx youth. Furthermore, it is unknown how different socializing agents (i.e., family, teachers, friends) influence youths’ PFE, hope, and academic achievement, and if relations differ by gender and special education (SPED) designation. The present study (5th–12th grade Latinx students living in the Southwest U.S.; n = 748; 49% male; 15% SPED) investigated whether students’ relational supports longitudinally related to their PFE (for education/work, self-satisfaction, community involvement), hope, and academic achievement 1 year later. In the non-SPED designated sample, family support related to PFE for work/education and self-satisfaction for boys. Conversely, teacher support related to PFE for work/education and self-satisfaction for girls. PFE for community involvement was low across the sample. The same pattern emerged for hope, with family support significant for boys and teacher support for girls. For achievement, teacher support related positively across gender. Friend support had few significant associations overall, although a significant negative relation emerged between friend support and achievement for SPED students. SPED students had a positive path between family support and PFE for work/education. Findings support a multidimensional approach to increasing strengths and resilience through increased attention to family, teacher, and friend support across unique groups of Latinx youth.