Study Design and Participants
This study utilized a secondary data analysis approach, drawing from the "Positive Modulatory Variables of Perceived Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis" (MS-POSITIVE) project (Broche-Pérez, Jiménez-Morales, Monasterio-Ramos, & Bauer, 2022; Broche-Pérez, Jiménez-Morales, Monasterio-Ramos, Vázquez-Gómez, & Fernández-Fleites, 2022; Broche-Pérez, Jiménez-Morales, Vázquez-Gómez, Bauer, & Fernández-Fleites, 2023). This original research provided a comprehensive dataset that included variables relevant to our research questions regarding optimism and quality of life among patients with multiple sclerosis. The dataset comprised 214 patients with multiple sclerosis, all over 18 years of age. Participants were from 11 Spanish-speaking countries: Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Spain, Cuba, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, and El Salvador. In this study, only the patients diagnosed with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis were included (n = 179).
Measures
Demographic and Clinical Information: The demographic variables analyzed included age, gender, education level, marital status, and country of residence.
The Revised Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R): Originally developed by Scheier et al. (1994) and adapted into Spanish by Otero, Luengo, Romero, Gómez-Fraguela, and Castro (1998), consists of two scales: Optimism and Pessimism. The LOT-R includes 10 items, with three items measuring optimism (items 1, 4, and 10), three assessing pessimism (items 3, 7, and 9), and four serving as fillers. Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each item using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree." The internal consistency of the LOT-R, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha, has been reported to range from .74 to .78 (Schou et al., 2004).
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10): The 10-item version of the CD-RISC, adapted from the original 25-item scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), was utilized (Campbell-Sills & Stein, 2007). Patients rated each item on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not true at all) to 4 (true nearly all the time). The total score for the CD-RISC-10 can range from 0 to 40, calculated by summing the responses to all 10 items. A higher score reflects greater resilience. This study used the validated version for Spanish-speaking patients with multiple sclerosis (Broche-Pérez, Jiménez-Morales, Monasterio-Ramos, & Bauer, 2022).
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life (MSQOL-29): The MSQOL-29 is a shortened version of the original 54-item inventory (MSQOL-54) (Rosato et al., 2016) This scale includes seven multi-item subscales: ‘physical function,’ ‘sexual function,’ ‘bodily pain,’ ‘emotional well-being,’ ‘energy,’ ‘cognitive function,’ ‘health distress,’ ‘social function,’ ‘health perceptions,’ ‘overall quality of life,’ and ‘change in health.’ It also comprises two composite scores: the physical health composite (PHC) and the mental health composite (MHC).
Fear of Relapse Scale: The Fear of Relapse Scale, developed by Khatibi, Moradi, Rahbari, Salehi, and Dehghani (2020), consists of 26 items divided into three factors: ‘Fear of disability following a relapse,’ ‘Fear of the psychological and physiological consequences of a relapse,’ and ‘Limitations resulting from fear.’ Each item is rated on a five-point Likert scale, with responses ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). In this study, the validated version for Spanish-speaking patients with multiple sclerosis was used (Broche-Pérez, Jiménez-Morales, Monasterio-Ramos, Vázquez-Gómez, et al., 2022).
Procedure
The study protocol received approval from the ethics committee of the Department of Psychology at Universidad Central 'Marta Abreu' de Las Villas. All procedures conducted in this study adhered to the ethical standards outlined in the 1964 Helsinki Declaration. Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.
Data Analysis
The data were processed using SPSS for Windows (version 21) and AMOS (version 22). Descriptive statistics were employed to explore the characteristics of the patients, while confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to evaluate the factor structure of the LOT-R (Spanish version). In this study, CFA was utilized to test the two-factor structure proposed by Cano-García et al. (2015). Model fit was assessed using the χ²/df ratio (with a value < 3), comparative fit index (CFI) (≥ 0.90), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (value ≤ 0.10) ((Cavanaugh & Neath, 2019; Lei & Wu, 2007). The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the convergent validity of the LOT-R (Spanish version). Additionally, we examined the reliability of the scale using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega (ω) coefficients. Multiple linear regression was performed to evaluate the effects of perceived quality of life, resilience, and fear of relapse on optimism.