Julia Boehm

Chapman University · Department of Psychology

Psychological well-being, characterized by feelings, cognitions, and strategies that are associated with positive functioning (including hedonic and eudaimonic well-being), has been linked with better physical health and greater longevity. Importantly, psychological well-being can be strengthened with interventions, providing a strategy for improvi...

Background Positive cardiometabolic health (CMH) is defined as meeting recommended levels of multiple cardiometabolic risk factors in the absence of manifest disease. Prior work finds that few individuals—particularly members of minoritized racial and ethnic groups—meet these criteria. This study investigated whether psychological assets help adole...

Objective: Psychological well-being (PWB) is linked with health behaviors among adults, but it is unclear if childhood PWB prospectively predicts healthy adulthood biobehavioral profiles. Such evidence may identify developmental windows for establishing positive health trajectories across the lifespan. Using data spanning 30 years, we investigated...

This systematic review synthesizes research published from January 2010-July 2022 on the social determinants of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) carried out around the world and compares trends in high-income countries (HICs) to those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 41 studies met inclusion criteria (n=28 HICs, n=13 LMICs). Most were...

Objectives: This prospective cohort study assessed the impact of a 12-h mindfulness-based wellness curriculum on OB-GYN residents' burnout, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Methods: Fourteen 1st year OB-GYN residents at the University of California, Irvine (n = 7 in two separate cohorts) were eligible and participated in a 12-h, in-person welln...

Introduction Optimism is associated with better cardiovascular health, yet little is known about the underlying mechanisms and whether protective relationships are consistently observed across diverse groups. This study examines optimism's association with lipid profiles over time and separately among Black and White men and women. Methods Data we...

Objective: Cardiometabolic disease (CMD) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Assessments of psychological well-being taken at one time point are linked to reduced cardiometabolic risk, but psychological well-being may change over time and how longitudinal trajectories of psychological well-being may be related to CMD risk remains...

Introduction: Numerous studies have examined the social determinants of ideal cardiovascular health (ICVH) around the world, but no work has summarized evidence to date. This study aimed to systematically review findings on the social distribution of ICVH globally, and to compare trends in high-income countries (HICs) vs. low/middle-income countrie...

Background Previous studies showed life satisfaction is related to reduced risk of coronary heart disease and diabetes, but its association with other cardiometabolic endpoints including hypertension and stroke remains unexplored. This study examined life satisfaction's prospective association with incident hypertension and stroke in middle-aged ad...

Why is happiness always fleeting? The phenomenon is due to hedonic adaptation, the process by which an individual's emotional response to both positive and negative experiences diminishes over time. Evolutionarily, returning back to baseline levels of happiness is advantageous, as extreme levels of positive or negative emotions can inhibit physical...

An encyclopedia entry about hedonic adaptation, where "an individual's emotional response to positive and negative stimuli lessens with the passage of time".

Why is happiness always fleeting? The phenomenon is due to hedonic adaptation, the process by which an individual's emotional response to both positive and negative experiences diminishes over time. Evolutionarily, returning back to baseline levels of happiness is advantageous, as extreme levels of positive or negative emotions can inhibit physical...

Objective: Favorable cardiovascular health is associated with greater longevity free of cardiovascular disease. Although the prevalence of cardiovascular health decreases with age, less is known about protective factors that promote and preserve it over time. We investigated whether optimism was associated with better cardiovascular health over a...

Aims Optimism is associated with reduced cardiovascular disease risk; however, few prospective studies have considered optimism in relation to hypertension risk specifically. We investigated whether optimism was associated with a lower risk of developing hypertension in U.S. service members, who are more likely to develop high blood pressure early...

Accumulating evidence shows that a higher sense of purpose in life is associated with lower risk of chronic conditions and premature mortality. Health behaviors might partially explain these findings, however, the prospective association between sense of purpose and health behaviors is understudied. We tested whether a higher sense of purpose at ba...

Improving health behaviors, especially among emerging adults, is no easy task. The present research sought to develop an intervention to improve health behavior by harnessing emerging adults’ desire for autonomy. Ninety-one participants between the ages of 18 and 25 years (M = 19.36 years) were randomly assigned to a control condition (n = 43) or a...

No studies have examined whether positive emotions lead to favorable cardiovascular health (CVH) early in the lifespan, before cardiovascular disease is diagnosed. Moreover, the direction of the association has not been thoroughly investigated. Among younger adults, we investigated whether baseline positive emotions were associated with better CVH...

Introduction: Reaching middle age with even one cardiovascular risk factor increases risk for morbidity and mortality. Yet once cardiovascular risk factors are in place, repairing or improving them can be difficult. One alternative is to promote healthy cardiovascular functioning during childhood. Although evidence indicates that adversity and psyc...

Introduction: Optimism is consistently associated with better cardiovascular health but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. This study examines prospective links between optimism and lipids in adulthood, and tests possible effect modification by social factors. Hypothesis: Greater optimism will predict healthier lipid profiles. Methods: Pa...

Optimism is associated with better health outcomes with hypothesized effects due in part to optimism’s association with restorative health processes. Limited work has examined whether optimism is associated with better quality sleep, a major restorative process. We test the hypothesis that greater optimism is associated with more favorable sleep qu...

Background: Optimism, or positive expectations about the future, is associated with better health. It is commonly assessed as a trait, but it may change over time and circumstance. Accordingly, we developed a measure of state optimism. Methods: An initial 29-item pool was generated based on literature reviews and expert consultations. It was adm...

Facets of positive psychological well-being, such as optimism, have been identified as positive health assets because they are prospectively associated with the 7 metrics of cardiovascular health (CVH) and improved outcomes related to cardiovascular disease. Connections between psychological well-being and cardiovascular conditions may be mediated...

Determinados aspectos del bienestar psicológico positivo, como el optimismo, se han identižcado como activos de salud positivos, ya que se han asociado prospectivamente a los 7 parámetros de salud cardiovascular (SCV) y a una mejora de los resultados relacionados con la enfermedad cardiovascular. Las relaciones entre el bienestar psicológico y los...

This study examined the attitudes of obstetrics and gynaecology (OB/GYN) resident physicians to initiating patient discussions regarding medical and elective oocyte cryopreservation (OC). The study used a cross-sectional online survey of OB/GYN medical residents in the USA, sampled from residency programmes approved by the American Council for Grad...

Background: Psychological well-being is associated with longevity and reduced risk of disease, but possible mechanisms are understudied. Health behaviors like eating fruits and vegetables may link psychological well-being with better health; however, most evidence is cross-sectional. Purpose: This study investigated psychological well-being's lo...

Facets of positive psychological well-being, such as optimism, have been identified as positive health assets because they are prospectively associated with the 7 metrics of cardiovascular health (CVH) and improved outcomes related to cardiovascular disease. Connections between psychological well-being and cardiovascular conditions may be mediated...

Rationale: Psychological well-being is associated with better cardiovascular health, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Objective: This study investigates one possible mechanism by examining psychological well-being's prospective association with lipid levels, focusing on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Methods: Participa...

Optimistic people have reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular-related mortality compared with their less optimistic peers. One explanation for this is that optimistic people may be more likely to engage in healthy behavior like exercising frequently, eating fruits and vegetables, and avoiding cigarette smoking. However, research...

Empirical research demonstrates a relationship between happiness and career success. For example, happy people receive higher earnings, exhibit better performance, and obtain more favorable supervisor evaluations than their less happy peers. Researchers have posited that success leads to happiness, but Boehm and Lyubomirsky reviewed the relevant re...

Poor psychological health (e.g., depression and anxiety) is prospectively associated with adverse cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there is increasing evidence that positive psychological constructs like happiness, optimism and gratitude are independently and prospectively linked to better health behaviors and superior cardiac prognosis in people wit...

Introduction: Favorable cardiovascular health (FCH) is associated with healthy longevity and reduced cardiovascular mortality risk. However, limited work has investigated the distribution of FCH in older age or considered the antecedents of FCH. Based on prior work linking psychological well-being with cardiovascular endpoints, higher psychologica...

Background Although higher psychological well-being has been linked with a range of positive biological processes and health outcomes, the prospective association between psychological well-being and physical activity among older adults has been understudied. PurposeWe tested whether higher baseline psychological well-being predicted higher levels...

Positive psychological constructs are associated with superior outcomes in cardiac patients, but there has been minimal study of positive psychology (PP) interventions in this population. Our objective was to describe the intervention development and pilot testing of an 8-week phone-based PP intervention for patients following an acute coronary syn...

Two concepts, positive health and cardiovascular health, have emerged recently from the respective fields of positive psychology and preventive cardiology. These parallel constructs are converging to foster positive cardiovascular health and a growing collaboration between psychologists and cardiovascular scientists to achieve significant improveme...

Older adults report higher psychological well-being than younger adults. Those highest in well-being also have the lowest risk of mortality. If those with lower well-being die earlier, it could affect the appearance of developmental change in well-being. In adults aged 50 and older (N = 4,458), we estimated effects of differential mortality on life...

Optimism has been associated with reduced suicidal ideation, but there have been few studies in patients at high suicide risk. We analyzed data from three study populations (total N=319) with elevated risk of suicide: (1) patients with a recent acute cardiovascular event, (2) patients hospitalized for heart disease who had depression or an anxiety...

Objective: Individuals who are satisfied and experience frequent positive emotions tend to have reduced risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, conflicting evidence exists and little research has investigated whether well-being is associated with early-warning indicators of biological risk that precede CHD. We investigated whether life sati...

Major theories informing conceptions of psychological well-being draw heavily from Western-centric perspectives, which often neglect culturally bound frameworks. We investigated how US Hispanics/Latinos conceptualize well-being, how psychosocial and behavioral aspects may increase well-being, and how psychosocial stressors may impact positive emoti...

STUDY QUESTION What knowledge, attitudes and intentions do US obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) residents have toward discussing age-related fertility decline and oocyte cryopreservation with their patients?

Most research considers both psychological and physical health with a disease perspective by focusing on poor psychological functioning or disease outcomes. However, identifying attributes that support adaptive functioning may inform approaches to achieving health beyond what we learn from studying risk factors that accelerate deterioration. Recent...

Depression and anxiety are well-known to be associated with adverse health outcomes in cardiac patients. However, there has been less work synthesizing the effects of positive psychological constructs (e.g., optimism) on health-related outcomes in cardiac patients. We completed a systematic review of prospective observational studies using establis...

We examined the cross-sectional association between optimism and cardiovascular health (CVH). We used data collected from adults aged 52-84 who participated in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) (n=5,134) during the first follow-up visit (2002-2004). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations of optimism with ide...

Greater life satisfaction is associated with greater longevity, but its variability across time has not been examined relative to longevity. We investigated whether mean life satisfaction across time, variability in life satisfaction across time, and their interaction were associated with mortality over 9 years of follow-up. Participants were 4,458...

Socioeconomic status is associated with health disparities, but underlying psychosocial mechanisms have not been fully identified. Dispositional optimism may be a psychosocial process linking socioeconomic status with health. We hypothesized that lower optimism would be associated with greater social disadvantage and poorer social mobility. We also...

Objective: Positive psychological well-being has protective associations with cardiovascular outcomes, but no studies have considered its association with diabetes. This study investigated links between well-being and incident diabetes. Methods: At study baseline (1991-1994), 7,800 middle-aged British men and women without diabetes indicated the...

Previous studies have shown that psychological well being is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. However, whether well being might be specifically associated with reduced risk of hypertension has not been rigorously investigated in prospective studies. This study examined the prospective association between two measures of psych...

The objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of nine positive psychology exercises delivered to patients hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and to secondarily explore the relative impact of the exercises. Participants admitted to a psychiatric unit for suicidal ideation or behavior completed daily positive psychology...

There is increasing recognition that positive psychological functioning (PPF; including constructs such as optimism, positive emotions, and social connectedness) influences health above and beyond negative psychological functioning (including constructs such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness). Most research on the relationship between PPF and...

The present research examined optimism's relation with total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. The hypothesis that optimism is associated with a healthier lipid profile was tested. The participants were 990 mostly white men and women from the Midlife in the United States study...

"Most approaches to health over the centuries have focused on the absence of illness. In contrast, we are investigating Positive Health —well-being beyond the mere absence of disease. In this article, we describe our theoretical framework and empirical work to date on Positive Health. Positive Health empirically identifies health assets by determin...

Objective Psychological and physical health are often conceptualized as the absence of disease; there is less research that addresses positive psychological and physical functioning. For example, optimism has been linked with reduced disease risk and biological dysfunction, but very little research has evaluated associations with markers of healthy...

Accumulating evidence suggests that positive psychological well-being (e.g., optimism, life satisfaction) is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. One possible explanation for this association is that individuals with greater positive psychological well-being tend to engage in health behaviors that are relevant to the prevention...

This review investigates the association between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also consider the mechanisms by which PPWB may be linked with CVD, focusing on the health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, and food consumption) and biological fu...

"By now, it has become a bromide that the U.S. constitution and culture are built on the pursuit of happiness (Myers, 1992). According to this political philosophy, government should allow citizens to strive towards their own conception of happiness, and should assist them as much as possible to reach this goal. In return, citizens ought to make th...

Increasing evidence suggests that multiple cognitive and motivational processes underlie individual differences in happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2001, 2008). One behavior that is associated with (un)happiness is self-reflection or dwelling. We hypothesized that unhappy individuals would be inclined to dwell about themselves, and that this behavior would...

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the...

Negative psychological states such as stress and depression are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but it is unclear whether some positive states are protective. We investigated satisfaction with specific life domains as predictors of incident CHD. Coronary risk factors and satisfaction within seven life domains (e.g. j...

Research suggests that positive psychological well-being is associated with cardiovascular health. However, much of this research uses elderly samples and has not determined the pathways by which psychological well-being influences cardiovascular disease or whether effects are similar for men and women. This study investigates the association betwe...

An 8-month-long experimental study examined the immediate and longer term effects of regularly practicing two assigned positive activities (expressing optimism and gratitude) on well-being. More important, this intervention allowed us to explore the impact of two metafactors that are likely to influence the success of any positive activity: whether...

Growing evidence suggests that well-being interventions can be effective. However, it is unclear whether happiness-increasing practices are equally effective for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. To investigate this question, Anglo Americans and predominantly foreign-born Asian Americans were randomly assigned to express optimism, co...

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the...

It is presumed that happiness, and its associated positive emotions, signal to the individual that an adaptive problem has been solved, thus allowing her to shift attention to other concerns, perhaps those "higher" on the revised motivational hierarchy proposed by Kenrick et al (2010, this issue). In this commentary, we present a sampling of longit...

Three studies (two conducted in Israel and one in the United States) examined associations between self-rated dispositional happiness and tendencies to treat memories of positive and negative events as sources of enhanced or attenuated happiness through the use of "endowment" and "contrast." Although participants generally endorsed items describing...

From ancient history to recent times, philosophers, writers, self-help gurus, and now scientists have taken up the challenge of how to foster greater happiness. This chapter discusses why some people are happier than others, focusing on the distinctive ways that happy and unhappy individuals construe themselves and others, respond to social compari...

Past research has demonstrated a relationship between happiness and workplace success. For example, compared with their less happy peers, happy people earn more money, display superior performance, and perform more helpful acts. Researchers have often assumed that an employee is happy and satisfied because he or she is successful. In this article,...

This study examined the comparability of Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) [Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985, Social Indicators Research, 34: 7– 32] scores across U.S. and Russian student and community groups. Criteria for weak measurement invariance were met when comparing U.S. and Russian groups (combining student and community samples)....

This study examined the comparability of Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) [Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985, Social Indicators Research, 34: 7–32] scores across U.S. and Russian student and community groups. Criteria for weak measurement invariance were met when comparing U.S. and Russian groups (combining student and community samples)....