Positive orientation: explorations on what is common to life satisfaction, self-esteem, and optimism

Abstract

Aim– Literature documents that the judgments people hold about themselves, their life, and their future are important ingredients of their psychological functioning and well-being, and are commonly related to each other.Methods– We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) under the classical test theory, regression analysis, and a cross national design.Results– This study provides new findings attesting to the hypothesis that evaluations about oneself, one's life, and one's future rest on a common mode of viewing experiences which we named “Positive Orientation”.Conclusions– Results from an Italian and a Canadian study are resented, attesting to a latent dimension that lies at the core of positive evaluations and that corroborates the utility of the new construct as a critical component of individuals’ well-functioning.Declaration of Interest:This study was partially supported by Grants from the MIUR, 2002 and 2005, and by a Grant from the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 2002 to Gian Vittorio Caprara. Authors declare “no potential conflict of interest”.