Optimistic explanatory style and the perception of health problems

Eighty-six adults completed questionnaires that measure explanatory style and perception of health problems. Subjects on the average saw themselves as below average in risk for a variety of health problems. Those subjects with an optimistic explanatory style, who explained bad events with external, unstable, and specific causes, in particular saw themselves as less at risk (r = .30, p < .01). They also believed that they were more able to prevent these health problems. Partialling out perceived preventability reduced to nonsignificance the correlation between explanatory style and perceived risk, which suggests that perceived preventability may mediate this link.