Acta Colombiana de Psicología (Feb 2017)

Factor structure of the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R)

  • Fernanda Ottati,
  • Ana Paula Porto Noronha

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 32 – 39

Abstract

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Optimism and pessimism are conceptualized as generalized expectations about events happening in people's lives, and are regarded as stable dispositions. The construct of optimism can be understood as being one-dimensional and bipolar, in other words, it’s an only attribute with two extremes ranging from optimism or pessimism. The Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) is the instrument used for assessing dispositional optimism and has been the subject of several studies that verify its one-dimensionality. However, the results of those studies do not necessarily support the theoretical model. The aim of this paper was to analyze the factor structure of the LOT-R in a sample of adolescent students from basic primary and secondary education. Participants were 183 students of both genders, aged between 13 and 19 years old. The application of the LOT-Rwas carried collectively in the classroom. The instrument’s confirmatory factor analysis was performed by testing a one-factormodel and another one of two-factors. The two-factor model was the most appropriate, showing that, for this particular sample, the LOT-R consists of two components. The need for studies to test the structure of the instrument is evident inasmuch as theliterature indicates that cultural differences are key elements to understanding optimism.

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