One key for rural communities’ cultural vitality is to develop psychological capital. Luthens, Luthens, & Luthens (2004) differentiate psychological capital from human and social capital and identify optimism as a key component of psychological capital. Therefore, purpose of this paper was to examine variations in optimism by health and social capital after controlling for socio-demographic variables. Demographic variables included education, income, age, marital status, sex, and race.
Participants in this study were from rural counties in a mid-south state. Surveys were obtained through an internet and mail survey (Dillman, Smyth, & Christian, 2014) with a response rate of 30.2%. Listwise deletion of participants with incomplete data resulted in a sample size of 661. Of the sample, 58.4% were females; 91.7% were white; 62.3% were married, 17.6% were divorced, and 8.5% were single never married; age (M =57.75 and sd=15.31).
Optimism was measured using the Life Orientation Test–Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), a six item questionnaire that asks participants to indicate how much they agreed with optimistic and pessimistic statements on a five-point scale. Responses to optimistic responses were reversed and the mean of participants’ responses to all items was calculated for an estimate of participants’ optimistic orientation.
Health was measured with a single item asking, “Overall how is your health?” Responses ranged from one (excellent) to five (poor) and were reverse scored so that high numbers indicated better health. This single item indicator predicted mortality in older persons independent of objective measures of health (Mossey & Shapiro, 1982).
Social capital was measured by combining an individual’s reports of trust in other people, community engagement, political participation, and social network (Roper Center, 2009). Trust was measured by asking if people in general can be trusted, using a four point scale. Higher scores indicated higher trust. Other dimensions were measured with a 10-item questionnaire asking participants how often they participated in various activities on a scale ranging from one to six. An overall social capital score was calculated from the mean of each dimension.
Demographic variables included education and ranged from one (Grades 1-11) to six (Master’s Degree or higher). Income was household income, before taxes, in 2016 and ranged from one (Less than $20,000) to six (More than $100,000); race, sex, and marital status were determined by participants own report.
Optimism ranged from 1-5 (M =3.6 and sd=0.69). Social capital ranged from 1.00-14.25 (M =4.96 and sd=1.93), health ranged from 1-5 (M =3.32 and sd=1.04). Regression results indicated that the overall model was statistically significant F(10,660)=20.23, p=<.001) and 24% of the variance was explained by the independent variables. Of the individual indicators health (β=.330, p<.001), income (β=.020, p<.05), age (β=.002, p<.05), and social capital (β=.176, p<.001) predicted variation in optimism. Specifically, higher measures of physical health and social capital result in higher measures of optimism, with health as the strongest predictor.
