Daily hassles and health: The protective role of optimism among Chinese adults in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objectives. This study examined the relations between daily hassles, dispositional optimism, mental distress and physical health, as well as the role of dispositional optimism in moderating the effect of hassles on mental and physical health among Chinese adults in Hong Kong. Method. Data on daily hassles, optimism, mental distress and physical health were collected from a convenient sample of 188 adults by means of a self-administered questionnaire which included the translated Chinese versions of the Survey of Recent Life Experiences (SRLE), Revised Life Orientation Test (CRLOT), General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12), and Physical Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Results. With the use of principle axis factoring followed by direct Oblimin rotation, three SRLE factors including Social and Financial Hassles, Time Pressure, and Work Hassles were extracted. Findings revealed that more hassles were related to higher mental distress and poorer physical health. In contrast, higher levels of optimism were associated with lower mental distress and better physical health. Moreover, optimism moderated the adverse effect of work hassles on mental distress at low levels of work hassles. Optimism also buffered the detrimental effect of work hassles on physical health when work hassles increased. Discussion. Findings were discussed in relation to the influence of culture on the factor structure of the SRLE, the negative effect of hassles, the direct and positive impact of optimism, as well as the moderating role of optimism in protecting individuals against the detrimental effect of work hassles on mental distress and physical health. Implications of optimism for the smooth migration into different stages of adulthood and promotion of optimistic thinking at the workplace were also discussed. Longitudinal studies in these directions and on the buffering role that optimism and other stress moderators play in protecting individuals against the adverse impact of hassles on health are warranted.