Table 2.
The State Optimism Measure: Item and scale descriptive statistics by sample
| SOM Items | Sample 1 (Healthy) (n=136) | Sample 2 (Cardiac) (n=96) | Sample 3 (Substance Recovery) (n=265) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | ||||
| 1. I am feeling optimistic about life’s challenges. | 3.68 (0.99) | 3.68 (0.97) | 3.84 (0.96) | |||
| 2. Right now, I expect things to work out for the best. | 3.99 (0.87) | 3.72 (1.02) | 3.90 (0.90) | |||
| 3. I am feeling optimistic about my future. | 3.96 (0.97) | 3.62 (1.02) | 3.84 (0.88) | |||
| 4. I feel that something good will happen today (in the next 24 hours). | 3.72 (0.92) | 3.62 (0.91) | 3.75 (0.93) | |||
| 5. The future is looking bright to me. | 3.86 (0.89) | 3.7 (1.0) | 3.74 (0.99) | |||
| 6. At the moment, I expect more to go right than wrong when it comes to my future. | 3.86 (0.90) | 3.66 (1.04) | 3.94 (0.96) | |||
| 7. I am expecting things to turn out well. | 3.97 (0.86) | 3.69 (0.99) | 3.87 (0.88) | |||
| Sample 1 (Healthy) | Sample 2 (Cardiac) | Sample 3 (Recovery) | ||||
| Mean (SD) | Range | Mean (SD) | Range | Mean (SD) | Range | |
| SOM total score | 27.07 (5.34) | 7–35 | 25.78 (6.15) | 8–35 | 26.91 (5.58) | 8–35 |
| Cronbach’s alpha | 0.92 | 0.96 | 0.94 | |||
Note: The SOM was preceded by the following instructions and Likert scale:
“Please answer the following items based on how you feel right now, that is, at the present moment using the scale below. Try to answer each item as accurately as possible based on your response to that item alone, without regard to your answers to any previous items.” (1: Strongly disagree to 5: Strongly agree)