Positivity in illness: self-delusion or existential growth?
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the relationship between a measure of positivity in illness, the Silver Lining Questionnaire (SLQ), and measures of personality and spirituality/religious beliefs as a way of determining whether positivity in illness is a delusion or existential growth.


METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study comparing response to the SLQ, to the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-R), breathlessness, illness type, and spiritual and religious beliefs in a final total sample of 194 respiratory outpatients.


RESULTS
The SLQ was associated positively with extraversion (r =.16, p<.05), unrelated to neuroticism (r =.11, n.s.) and repression (r =.10, n.s.) and was positively associated with spiritual and religious beliefs, F(2; 187) = 7.12, p < 001, as predicted by the existential growth but not the delusion interpretation. There was no relationship between positivity and age, r(194) =.09, n.s., or between positivity and gender t(192) = -1.27, n.s., and nor were there relationships with type of illness, F(4, 188) = 2.17, n.s., or breathlessness, F (5, 173) = 0.42, n.s.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that positivity in illness is associated with existential growth, though the cross-sectional nature of the study precludes a conclusion of causal direction. The non-significant correlation between the SLQ and neuroticism is in the opposite direction predicted by the delusion explanation, but the non-significant relationship between the SLQ and repression is in the predicted direction. We cannot rule out the possibility that some positivity is delusion.
Sodergren
S C
SC
Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth, UK.
Hyland
M E
ME
Crawford
A
A
Partridge
M R
MR
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002388:Catastrophic Illness / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology; D004194:Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D029181:Spirituality