J. Psych. Beh. Stud. Vol., 3 (7), 215-222, 2015
The Relationship among
Optimism, Resiliency and Life’s
Meaningfulness in Students
JOURNAL OF
JPBS
PSYCHOLOGY &
BEHAVIORAL STUDIES
Vol 2 ( Vol 3(7): 215-222
http://www.jpbsjournal.com
ISSN: 2148-0664
Copyright © 2015
Kobra Omidi-Pour1*, Mina Ghadiri Nofarast2, Seyed Hoseyn
Falsafi2, Farideh Amiralsadat1
1
Department of Psychology, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Tonekabon, Iran
2
Department of Psychology, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic
Azad University, Amol, Iran
*
Corresponding Author: Kobra Omidi-Pour
ABSTRACT The current study was an attempt to investigate the
relationship between optimism and resiliency to life’s
meaningfulness in female students of Azad University of
Tonekabon. A correlational research design was employed to
conduct the research. The population under study was composed
of a total of 4301 female students majoring at Azad University of
Toenkabon in 2012-2013. Of these, 338 students were selected
through stratified random sampling as the research sample. The
instruments adopted include: Scheier and Carver’s Life
Orientation Test (LOT), Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CDRISC) and Life-Regard Index (LRI). The obtained data were
analyzed using multivariate regression analysis and Pearson
correlation analysis. The results indicated that there exists a
significant positive relationship among optimism, resiliency and
life’s meaningfulness of female students. In other word, an
increase in optimism and resiliency leads to an increase in
meaningfulness of female students’ life.
KEYWORDS
Optimism, Resiliency, Life’s Meaningfulness.
INTRODUCTION
In recent decades, Positive psychologists have mostly highlighted one’s abilities, competencies and
endowments. They are under the impression that psychology should aim at improving living
standards and enabling people to blossom to their highest potentials (Hasaniet al., 2011). The main
purpose of this approach is to identify constructs that bring meaning to one’s life. As such,
constructs like joy, hope, optimism etc. form the core of this approach i.e. aspects which provide
meaning to life (Nasiri & Jokar, 2008). Historically, living a significant and meaningful life has been
one of the most controversial concepts in philosophy and psychology. Attempts to understand the
nature of a meaningful life has been continued over the centuries and philosophers, psychologists
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and psychiatrists have discussed and argued over it. However, despite concerted efforts,
there are still many unanswered questions in the case (Feldman & Snyder, 2005). Frankel
(2007) argues that the essence of human existence would be worth studying when they are
grappling with life outside their comfort zone and life does not give them happiness but an
opportunity to perceive its meaning. In fact, Frankel believes that the first motive in one’s
life is to search for meaning and this meaning, of course, may be realized with respect to
the requirements for quality of their life (Rathi & Rastogi, 2007). This term includes two
components as: meaning in life and search for meaning. Carrying meaning in life refers to a
situation in which one’s understanding of life experiences is based on the feeling that life
events are targeted and they are shaped in line with those targets. While search for
meaning (meaning-seeking) refers to an activity and a strong willingness of an individual to
find, create and discuss the meaning of life. Humans can experience a meaningful life when
their four needs for meaningfulness are satisfied. These needs include: life’s purposefulness,
self-efficacy and self-control, a need for having a set of values by which they could justify
their actions, and the existence of a stable and consistent basis for having a positive sense
of self-esteem (Baumeister & Newman, 1991).
People with high level of meaningfulness, when dealing with everyday issues, only focus on
certain aspects of the problem; whereas those with low levels of life’s meaningfulness look
at the limitation of time as a major problem and link the current problems with the
possibility of not reaching future goals. In this way, those experiencing significantly higher
levels of life meaningfulness are easily able to cope with adversities. High levels of meaning
in life not only help an individual survive hardships but also it increases the sense of
personal satisfaction and achievement. As a result, it could be stated that certain aspects of
meaningfulness play a major role in increasing a person's ability to cope with problems (Kim
et al., 2005). One’s ability to deal with problems is called resiliency; thus, resiliency can be
effective in life’s meaningfulness. In other words, resilience is a positive adaptation in
response to adverse conditions (Waller, 2001). Therefore, an abiding person could process
an adverse situation in a more positive manner and consider him capable of handling that
situation. However, resiliency is not merely defined in terms of sustainability against
damage or life-threatening conditions or only as a passive status in the face of adversity;
rather it is known as ones’ active and productive participation in their surroundings. It could
be asserted that resilience is one’s ability to sustain a healthy psycho-biological balance in
dangerous conditions.
Some researchers believe that positive emotions are very important psychological resources
that help people adopt effective coping strategies (Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002). Therefore,
people who experience positive emotions to a greater degree are probably more resistant to
harsh events; thus, they are more resilience. Another important variable in the face of
difficulties is optimism. Optimism means the conviction that the future can be better. A
sense of hope, purpose and belief in that they can control their lives and future; and
potential obstacles cannot stop them. Optimistic people live their lives more fun, enjoy more
mental and physical health and cope with mental pressures by adopting better coping
strategies (Carver & Scheier, 2002).
Yang and Mao (2007) hold the idea that having a purpose and meaning in life, a sense of
belonging to a noble existence, being in hope of God's help in difficult situations and
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satisfaction with the existing social and spiritual support are all the means by which
religious people could survive the most stressful life events. Kim et al (2005) also believe
that there exists a relationship between resilience and life’s meaningfulness indicating that a
significant increase in meaningfulness of life not only helps a person overcome crisis, but
also lead to great satisfaction with one's life. Consequently, it seems that these aspects of
meaningfulness play an important role in helping people overcome adverse situations.
Regarding the fact that the majority of humans experience stressful circumstances in
today’s modern and mechanical world; hence, it is necessary to identify and enhance those
factors that could strengthen individuals against these pressures and improve their health.
To this end, taking into consideration the two features of resilience and optimism and their
effects on life’s meaningfulness, the present study addressed the following question:
Is there any significant relationship among optimism, resiliency and life’s meaningfulness in
female students of Azad University of Tonekabon?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study employed a correlational research design .The population under study was
comprised of a total of 4301 female students majoring at Azad University of Toenkabon in
2012-2013 (N=4301). Owing to the fact that the population consisted of various groups
(various educational levels), stratified random sampling was used to select the sample
research; that was a total of 338 subjects. The instruments adopted include:
Scheier and Carver’s Life Orientation Test (LOT): it was developed by Scheier and Carver
in1994 and is comprised of ten 5-point Likert items; 3 of which represents optimism, 3
pessimism and 4 of them are there as distracters for which no score is set. According to the
rating scale, in items 10, 4 and 1, absolutely agree is given the highest value of four, on the
other hand, absolutely disagree receives the minimum value of zero. Therefore, the other
choices fall within these two values: agree = 3, no idea = 2, and disagree = 1; while, items
9, 7 and 3 are conversely scored. The reliability coefficient of this questionnaire using
Cronbach's alpha was estimated to be 0.74 which indicates a high reliability. Besides,
concurrent validity coefficients between optimism (or depression) and self-dominance
orientation came out to be 0.469 and 0.725, respectively. Each item is scored on a scale of
6 degrees (1for absolutely untrue and 6 for absolutely true)
Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC): it was constructed by Connor and Davidson
(2003). The 25 items of the CD-RISC were developed into Likert-type scale ranging from 0
(absolutely untrue) to 4 (absolutely true). As a result, the maximum score could be 100.
Each teste’s score is the sum of scores or values obtained from each of the questions and
each testis’s resiliency raw score (score obtained) is divided by 100 multiplied by 100. The
more the teste’s score is close to 100, the higher the resiliency is, and the more the teste’s
score t is close to 0, the less the resiliency is. The Persian version of this scale was used and
its reliability and validity were approved in preliminary studies between patients and nonpatients.
The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire using Cronbach's alpha was
estimated to be 0.89. The validity was estimated to be 0.87 using factor analyses
(Besharat, 2007).
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Life- Regard Index Revised (LRI-R): this study benefited from LRI created by Batista and
Almond (1973). It consists of 27 items and 2 subscales. These subscales include: 1.
Framework: Understanding the structure and philosophy of life as well as one’s approach to
infer meaning in his life. 2. Satisfaction: one’s perception of life based on his selected
framework. Every subscale includes fourteen 3-points Likert scale ranging from agree, no
idea to disagree. Several studies have demonstrated a good validity and reliability
coefficients for this test (Batista & Almond, 1973; Feldman & Snyder, 2005). In their study,
Nasiri and Jokar (2008) used Cronbach's alpha to estimate the reliability coefficient of this
questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was estimated to be 0.85, 0.73 and 0.77 for the
overall scale, framework and satisfaction subscales, respectively; which are quite
satisfactory. The validity of the scale was assessed using principal component factor
analysis with varimax rotation. KMO index and Bartlett came out to be 0.87 and 2217.33,
respectively which are significant at 0.0001 indicating the adequacy of sampling options and
the correlation matrix (Nasiri & Jokar, 2008).
RESULTS
Regarding the purpose of the study i.e. the relationship of optimism and resiliency to life’s
meaningfulness in female students, multivariate regression analysis and Pearson correlation
analysis were used to analyze the data. The results are presented in the following tables:
Table 1. Correlation matrix between optimism and resiliency with life’s meaningfulness.
Life’s meaningfulness
Optimism
Resiliency
**
P<0.01
Life’s meaningfulness
1
0.496**
0.566**
Optimism
1
0.290**
Resiliency
1
As is seen in table above, the correlation among optimism, resiliency and life’s
meaningfulness is statistically significant (P<0.01).
Table 2. Analysis of variance test of significance for the model.
Step
1
2
Resiliency
SS
14081.24
df
1
Ms
8114.24
F
158.63**
Residual
29826.76
336
88.77
-
Optimism
19357.03
2
9678.52
132.06**
Residual
24550.97
335
73.29
-
P<0.01
**
According to table 2, the F values in both steps are statistically significant (0.001);
therefore, it could be concluded with 99% certainty that there is a significant relationship
between optimism and resiliency and the predictor variables (optimism and resiliency) could
predict the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness). Thus, running regression analysis is
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legitimate. In order to determine which predictor variable could best predict the criterion
variable, stepwise regression model was used.
Table 3. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis to predict life’s meaningfulness based
on optimism and resiliency.
Step
1
2
Fixed
number
Resiliency
Fixed
number
Resiliency
Optimism
B
30.92
SEB
2.49
Beta
R2
0.32
R2
-
0.637
9.06
0.051
3.43
0.566
-
0.44
0.12
0.519
0.924
0.048
0.109
0.461
0.36
-
-
As is seen in table 3, at first resiliency has entered into the model as the strongest predictor
variable and it could explain 32% of the variance occurred in criterion variable (life’s
meaningfulness). Second, optimism has entered in the model and alongside resiliency could
predict 44% of the variances in the criterion variable. According to the above table, in the
first step resiliency has entered into the model and with Beta=0.566 had a significant role in
predicting the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness) (p<0.001). Thus, based upon the
resiliency variable, the equation of life’s meaningfulness is as follows:
Life’s meaningfulness = 30.92 + 0.637 (resiliency)
In the second step, optimism variable has entered into the model and with Beta=0.362 had
a significant role in predicting the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness) (p<0.001). Thus,
based upon these two predictor variables, the equation of life’s meaningfulness is as
follows:
Life’s meaningfulness = 9.059 + 0.519 (resiliency) + 0.924 (optimism)
Table 4. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis to predict life’s meaningfulness based
on optimism.
Variable
Fixed number
Optimism
B
23.95
1.27
SEB
3.65
0.12
Beta
0.496
R2
0.25
-
According to the regression analyses, optimism could predict 25% of the variances occurred
in the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness). As could be seen in the above table,
optimism has entered into the model and with Beta=0.496 had a significant role in
predicting the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness) (p<0.001). Thus, based upon the
optimism variable, the equation of life’s meaningfulness is as follows:
Life’s meaningfulness = 23.95 + 0.496 (optimism)
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Table 5. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis to predict life’s meaningfulness based
on resiliency.
Variable
Fixed number
Resiliency
B
30.92
1.637
SEB
2.49
0.05
Beta
0.566
R2
0.32
12.59
According to the regression analyses, resiliency could predict 32% of the variances occurred
in the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness). As could be seen in the above table,
resiliency has entered into the model and with Beta=0.566 had a significant role in
predicting the criterion variable (life’s meaningfulness) (p<0.001). Thus, based upon the
resiliency variable, the equation of life’s meaningfulness is as follows:
Life’s meaningfulness = 30.92 + 0.566 (resiliency)
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The current study was an attempt to investigate the relationship among optimism, resiliency
and life’s meaningfulness in female students of Azad University of Toenkabon. The results
indicated that there exists a significant correlation between optimism and resiliency with
life’s meaningfulness in female students of Azad University of Toenkabon. Furthermore, it
was revealed that at first resiliency has entered into the model as the strongest predictor
variable and it could explain 32% of the variance occurred in criterion variable (life’s
meaningfulness). Second, optimism has entered to the model and alongside resiliency could
predict 44% of the variances in the criterion variable. The finding of the present paper is
consistent with the findings reported by Zahed-Babelan et al (2012), Nasiri and Jokar
(2008), McMahan and Renken (2011), Seyed-Mahmoudi et al (2011), Kim et al (2005) and
Carver and Scheier (2002).
Explaining the results, it could be declared that optimism refers to having a general
expectation based upon the idea that pleasant events are likely to happen more in the
future than bad events and this sense of optimism could influence ones’ behavior and how
they cope with life difficulties and stressful situations (Taylor et al., 2000). It is for this
reason that optimistic people expect good things to happen to them in the future and this
confidence in the future creates a positive feeling in the person. As the result, it develops a
great psychological adjustment. When people are optimistic, life is precious to them and
they stand more optimistic about their future and pursue their goals with further efforts.
Being purposeful in life means meaningfulness of life and thus it could be said that optimism
could help an individual create meaning in life. The optimists have the ability to deal with
problems and to adjust their ability to difficult situations and this is an indication of their
resiliency. These groups of people could get benefit from positive coping strategies in face
of adversity; since they are hopeful toward the future and believe that they could remove
the obstacles with self-effort. The concept of resiliency is a promising and appealing solution
and creates a window of hope for the future and pursuit of purpose in life. One of the
features of an abiding person is having a sense of purpose and a firm belief in a clear future
(targeting, optimism, religious belief and spiritual relationship) and this is the meaning of
life. Therefore, it can be said that resiliency alongside enhancing one’s ability to handle
adverse situations are a training to achieve your goals in life and this leads to meaningmaking (i.e., constructing meaning) in people’s life.
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Baumeister and Newman (1991) believe that humans can experience a meaningful life when
their four needs for meaningfulness are satisfied. These needs include: life’s purposefulness,
self-efficacy and self-control, having a set of values by which they could justify their actions
and the existence of a stable and consistent basis for having a positive sense of selfesteem. Owing to the fact that optimists and resilient people have purpose in life and feel
competent in coping with difficulties and also enjoy a positive feeling toward future, it could
be declared that optimism and resiliency could create meaning in life. According to Frankel,
search for meaning is an undeniable fact in life and the true nature of human beings is
defined through this fact which is indeed inspiring for them. This meaning has a healing
power that can direct and target life and help a person achieve his goals. Although humans
are not able to compensate for their past, they could compensate for the past as they wish
by finding ways to future and ways to unfold their hidden talents. Even if ones’ past is
fraught with failures, they could still provide a way to future success by looking accurately
and profoundly. Flaws many times act as a warning light for future success and
development. Life’s meaningfulness alongside considering the transient existence of human
life could encourage people to work and make their best efforts rather than stay cynicism
and in isolation. Meaningfulness of life also states that the cause of human suffering is not
solely their despairs and undesired nature of life but life’s meaninglessness; which is
catastrophic. If we accept the pain bravely, the life would be meaningful to us until the last
second, and the meaning of life could also encompass the potential meaning of suffering
and pain (Frankel, 2007). Consequently, we can empower people so that they promote a
sense of identity, competency and ability to make decisions, achieve their goals, and believe
in the future; and in this way they could make their basic human needs for affection,
relationships with others, challenging, empowerment and meaningfulness the focus of any
preventive interventions and educational and personal development treatments in face of
overwhelming situations (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). Taking into account the importance
of life’s meaningfulness and the role of resiliency and optimism in improving this meaning, it
is recommended designing youth education and training programs in a way to promote
resiliency and to improve optimistic attitudes in them so that we could help them find life’s
meaningfulness.
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