Study uncovers possible health benefits of pessimism

Adults 65 and older however were far more prone to underestimate their future life satisfaction. Not only did they feel more satisfied than they thought they would, the older pessimists seemed to suffer a lower ratio of disability and death for the study period.

“We observed that being overly optimistic in predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with a greater risk of disability and a greater risk of mortality within the following decade,” wrote lead author Frieder R. Lang, a psychology professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.

Lang and colleagues hypothesized that people who were gloomy about their future may be more careful about their actions than people who anticipated a rosy future.

“Perceiving a dark future may foster positive evaluations of the actual self and may contribute to taking improved precautions,” authors wrote.

Surprisingly, respondents who enjoyed good health or income were associated with expecting a greater decline compared with those in poor health or who had low incomes.

Also, researchers said that higher income was related to a greater risk of disability.

Study authors noted that there were limitations to their conclusions. Illness, medical treatment and personal loss could also have driven health outcomes.

However, the researchers said a pattern was clear.

“We found that from early to late adulthood, individuals adapt their anticipations of future life satisfaction from optimistic, to accurate to pessimistic,” the authors concluded. “Pessimistic accuracy appears to be linked with preserved functional health and better chances to survive.”