西口 雄基

Abstract Optimism is typically conceptualized as a relatively static tendency regarding positive expectations about one’s future. However, recent studies suggest that optimism may meaningfully fluctuate within individuals over time. To date, little is known about the characteristics of such state optimism and potential cultural difference in state optimism. Accordingly, we developed a Japanese version of the State Optimism Measure (J-SOM) and examined its validity and the nature of intraindividual state optimism fluctuations; we also examined relationships between the J-SOM and other measures of mental health, including trait optimism. We conducted two online longitudinal surveys with different time intervals (weekly, n = 97; monthly, n = 99) targeting university students. Results were largely consistent between the two surveys. We confirmed high factor validity and internal consistency of the J-SOM. The J-SOM showed significant correlations in expected directions with other measures such as depressive mood and subjective happiness. In addition, intraindividual changes in the J-SOM were associated with changes in mood and quality of daily life. Importantly, these associations between intraindividual change in optimism and in other variables were minimal for trait optimism. We also found that state optimism, compared with trait optimism, tended to show larger intraindividual changes over 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 weeks. In summary, this study developed a translated version of the SOM and validated it, and then showed, for the first time, that state optimism can fluctuate within individuals in daily life over a span of several weeks.

Abstract The Maladaptive and Adaptive Coping Style Questionnaire (MAX) is a comprehensive tool for measuring coping styles including three subscales: maladaptive coping, adaptive coping, and avoidance. This study developed a Japanese version of MAX and evaluated the relationship between the coping styles and psychopathologies between the Japanese sample and the German sample. For the cross-cultural comparison, we used the Japanese community sample and German data set acquired by Moritz et al. (Journal of Affective Disorders 191:300–307, 2016). Factor analysis was conducted with the Japanese version of the MAX. Referring to the original version, we hypothesized the three-factor structure. However, the results showed that the adaptive coping subscale had less similarity to the original version, whereas the maladaptive coping and avoidance subscales were similar to the original. As the result of cultural comparison, the Japanese participants showed more maladaptive coping and avoidance. Moreover, the maladaptive coping styles had weaker correlations with the psychopathologies in the Japanese sample than with those in the German sample in the present study.