Prediction of All-Cause Mortality by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Optimism-Pessimism Scale Scores: Study of a College Sample During a 40-Year Follow-up Period.
Brummett, Beverly H. PhD; Helms, Michael J. BS; Dahlstrom, W. Grant PhD; Siegler, Ilene C. PhD, MPH
[Article] Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 81(12):1541-1544, December 2006.

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OBJECTIVE: To examine a measure of explanatory style, the Optimism-Pessimism (PSM) scale derived from college-entry Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scores, as a predictor of all-cause mortality.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 7007 students entering the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory during the mid-1960s. Of those students, 6958 had scores on the PSM scale and data for all-cause mortality through 2006. Scores on the PSM scale were evaluated as predictors of mortality using the Cox proportional hazards regression model, adjusted for sex. During the 40-year follow-up period, 476 deaths occurred.

RESULTS: Pessimistic individuals who scored in the upper tertile of the distribution had decreased rates of longevity (hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.13-1.77) compared with optimistic individuals who scored in the bottom tertile of the distribution.

CONCLUSION: In a model that adjusted only for sex, a measure of optimistic vs pessimistic explanatory style was a significant predictor of survival during a 40-year follow-up period such that optimists had increased longevity.

(C) 2006 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research