title: Childhood adversities, parent-child relationships and dispositional optimism in adulthood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies exploring the effects of childhood adversities and parent-child relationship on adulthood dispositional optimism are rather rare, have been performed on small, selected samples and lack analyses of interaction between childhood factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 19970 working-aged Finns responded to the population-based HeSSup Study baseline questionnaire in 1998. The level of dispositional optimism (measured with the LOT-R scale) was analyzed according to self-reported childhood adversities, childhood parent-child relationships and their interaction, using multivariate linear regression analysis methods. A number of potential confounding factors (education, living alone, recent life events, somatic health and depressive mood) were taken into account.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Childhood adversities were associated with decreasing optimism in a dose-response manner. Good parent-child relationships were associated with increasing optimism, with a partial buffering effect when confronting adversities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Those reporting childhood adversities and poor parent-child relationships had less optimistic expectations, which may need to be addressed in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Practice, University of Turku, Lemminkäisenkatu 1, 20014, Finland. katariina.korkeila@utu.fi
authors.forename: Katariina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Korkeila
authors.forename: Sirkka-Liisa
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Kivelä
authors.forename: Sakari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vahtera
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimäki
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sundell
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helenius
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koskenvuo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament