Hope, Optimism, Gratitude, and Wellbeing Among Health Professional Minority College Students

Overview

Journal J Am Coll Health

Publisher Routledge

Specialty Health Services

Date 2021 Aug 4

PMID 34344275

Citations 6

Authors

Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi PhD

Kaveh Dehghan Mba

Stacy Chou Bs

Shanelle Bailey Mph

Kyla Baron Mph

Shervin Assari Md Mph

Robert Marzio PhD

Senait Teklehaimanot Mph

Dulcie Kermah EdD Mph

Richard W Lindstrom EdD

Anaheed Shirazi Md

Diana Lopez Md

Mohsen Bazargan PhD

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Participants: One hundred and thirty-two ( = 132) college students from the Nursing, Medicine, and Allied Health programs.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey study assessed wellbeing across the five domains of positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

Results: Mean and Standard Deviation on hope, optimism, and gratitude were 50.2 ± 5.6; 21.7 ± 4.34; and 36.3 ± 5.35, respectively. Hope, optimism, and gratitude were positively associated with domains of wellbeing, controlling for gender and age.

Conclusion: Students maintained a positive outlook in life. Hopeful, op6timistic, and grateful students experienced positive emotion, were more engaged in their daily activities, had more supportive relationships, had a better sense of direction in life, and more often accomplished their goals. Interpretations and future directions are discussed.

Citing Articles

Systematic review of well-being interventions for minority healthcare workers.

Bafna T, Malik M, Choudhury M, Hu W, Weston C, Weeks K Front Med (Lausanne). 2025; 12:1531090.

PMID: 40061368 PMC: 11885290. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1531090.

Adaptation and combination of two scales to measure dispositional gratitude in health sciences faculty: a psychometric analysis.

Beltran-Sanchez J, Moral de la Rubia J, Valle de la O A, Nava-Manzo J, Dominguez A BMC Med Educ. 2025; 25(1):175.

PMID: 39905377 PMC: 11792218. DOI: 10.1186/s12909-025-06773-z.

Empowering young athletes: the influence of autonomy-supportive coaching on resilience, optimism, and development.

Zhang N, Du G, Tao T Front Psychol. 2025; 15():1433171.

PMID: 39845556 PMC: 11750835. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1433171.

The relationship of future anxiety with a multidimensional framework of well-being among undergraduate students: optimism and pessimism as mediators.

Oztekin G BMC Psychol. 2025; 13(1):40.

PMID: 39819804 PMC: 11736928. DOI: 10.1186/s40359-025-02387-8.

The moderating effect of perceived hope in the relationship between anxiety and posttraumatic growth during the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Slezackova A, Malatincova T, Millova K, Svetlak M, Krafft A Front Psychol. 2024; 15:1440021.

PMID: 39156809 PMC: 11327115. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1440021.

References

Lambert N, Graham S, Fincham F . A prototype analysis of gratitude: varieties of gratitude experiences. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2009; 35(9):1193-207. DOI: 10.1177/0146167209338071. View

Fava G, Sonino N . The biopsychosocial model thirty years later. Psychother Psychosom. 2007; 77(1):1-2. DOI: 10.1159/000110052. View

Keyes C . The Black-White paradox in health: flourishing in the face of social inequality and discrimination. J Pers. 2009; 77(6):1677-706. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00597.x. View

Froh J, Sefick W, Emmons R . Counting blessings in early adolescents: an experimental study of gratitude and subjective well-being. J Sch Psychol. 2008; 46(2):213-33. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2007.03.005. View

Wood A, Froh J, Geraghty A . Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration. Clin Psychol Rev. 2010; 30(7):890-905. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005. View

Lianov L, Fredrickson B, Barron C, Krishnaswami J, Wallace A . Positive Psychology in Lifestyle Medicine and Health Care: Strategies for Implementation. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2019; 13(5):480-486. PMC: 6732874. DOI: 10.1177/1559827619838992. View

Fergus S, Zimmerman M . Adolescent resilience: a framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annu Rev Public Health. 2005; 26:399-419. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144357. View

Kashdan T, Uswatte G, Julian T . Gratitude and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in Vietnam war veterans. Behav Res Ther. 2006; 44(2):177-99. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.01.005. View

Agaibi C, Wilson J . Trauma, PTSD, and resilience: a review of the literature. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2005; 6(3):195-216. DOI: 10.1177/1524838005277438. View

10.

Ryff C . Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychother Psychosom. 2013; 83(1):10-28. PMC: 4241300. DOI: 10.1159/000353263. View

11.

Hinz A, Sander C, Glaesmer H, Brahler E, Zenger M, Hilbert A . Optimism and pessimism in the general population: Psychometric properties of the Life Orientation Test (LOT-R). Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2018; 17(2):161-170. PMC: 6220919. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.02.003. View

12.

Ouweneel E, Le Blanc P, Schaufeli W . On being grateful and kind: results of two randomized controlled trials on study-related emotions and academic engagement. J Psychol. 2014; 148(1):37-60. DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2012.742854. View

13.

Scheier M, Carver C, Bridges M . Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): a reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1994; 67(6):1063-78. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.67.6.1063. View

14.

Ostaszewski K, Zimmerman M . The effects of cumulative risks and promotive factors on urban adolescent alcohol and other drug use: a longitudinal study of resiliency. Am J Community Psychol. 2006; 38(3-4):237-49. DOI: 10.1007/s10464-006-9076-x. View

15.

Auerbach R, Alonso J, Axinn W, Cuijpers P, Ebert D, Green J . Mental disorders among college students in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Psychol Med. 2016; 46(14):2955-2970. PMC: 5129654. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291716001665. View

16.

Krysinska K, Lester D, Lyke J, Corveleyn J . Trait gratitude and suicidal ideation and behavior: an exploratory study. Crisis. 2015; 36(4):291-6. DOI: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000320. View

17.

Steinhardt M, Dolbier C . Evaluation of a resilience intervention to enhance coping strategies and protective factors and decrease symptomatology. J Am Coll Health. 2008; 56(4):445-53. DOI: 10.3200/JACH.56.44.445-454. View

18.

Rutter M . Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 1987; 57(3):316-331. DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1987.tb03541.x. View

19.

Matsui J . "Outsiders at the Table"-Diversity Lessons from the Biology Scholars Program at the University of California, Berkeley. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2018; 17(3):es11. PMC: 6234806. DOI: 10.1187/cbe.17-12-0276. View

20.

Zhang M, Mou N, Tong K, Wu A . Investigation of the Effects of Purpose in Life, Grit, Gratitude, and School Belonging on Mental Distress among Chinese Emerging Adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15(10). PMC: 6210347. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15102147. View