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A Translation and Validation Study of the Life Orientation Test Revised in the Greek Speaking Population of Nurses among Three Hospitals in Athens and Ioannina

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Abstract

The life orientation test-revised (LOT-R) (Scheier et al. in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 67:1063–1078, 1994) is a brief measure for assessing dispositional optimism. The aim of this study was to develop a Greek language version of the LOT-R and to assess the instrument’s psychometric properties. The LOT-R was translated and culturally adopted in Greek language, and the final version was administered, along with a questionnaire consisting socioeconomic characteristics and a single item measuring optimism, to 276 Greek speaking, hospital nurses (222 female, 54 male), aged 22–65 years (mean 37.8, SD 8.3). Results showed that the LOT-R has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .71 and item total correlation coefficients from .27 to .73, a unitary structure, and stability over a 3-months period (r = .66). Moreover, the Greek version of the scale exhibited good convergent validity with single-item optimism scale (r = .73). Principal components analysis revealed a two-factor structure representing the constructs of optimism and pessimism. The Greek life orientation test revised appears to be a valid tool in assessing dispositional optimism in Greek speaking people and is expected to facilitate the examination of optimism in Greek speaking populations.

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Abbreviations

LOT:

Life orientation test

LOT-R:

Life orientation test revised

GrLOT-R:

Greek life orientation test revised

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the experts committee: Arvaniti Crysa (MD, PhD) from School of Medicine, University of Athens, Stamoulis Konstantinos (MD), Papadopoulos George (MD), Mosxos Nickolas (MSc psy), Mpakomitrou Florentia (MSc psy), Katopodi Athanasia (Register Head BN), Xristidi Stella (Md), Ralli Maroudia (Md) and Paisanidou Helen(Md) from Nikaia General Hospital, Dragioti Helen (MSc psy) from Sotiria General Hospital of Athens, Lyrakos Panagiotis (Mba lit) and Xrysikou Alefanto (Lit) from Address of Secondary education of Athens and the translators Mastora Andriani (Mpharm), Dimoliati Olga (MSc), Jayden Blake Smith and Christina Soulios (MSc psy) for their contribution to the cultural adaptation of GrLOT-R. Thanks are due to anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. General District Hospital of Nikaia Athens/Pain Unit, 2nd Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Pain Clinic, Attiko University Hospital, Medical School of Athens, Rimini 1 Xaidari, 14462, Athens, Greece

    George N. Lyrakos

  2. Laboratory of Medical Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Ioaninna, Ioaninna, Greece

    Dimitrios Damigos

  3. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Ioaninna, Ioaninna, Greece

    Venetsanos Mavreas

  4. 2nd Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Kostopanagiotou Georgia

  5. Department of Hygiene & Epidemiology, School of Medicine, University of Ioaninna, Ioannina, Greece

    Ioannis D. Κ. Dimoliatis

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  1. George N. Lyrakos
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  2. Dimitrios Damigos
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  3. Venetsanos Mavreas
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  4. Kostopanagiotou Georgia
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  5. Ioannis D. Κ. Dimoliatis
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Correspondence to George N. Lyrakos.

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Authors’ Contribution:

G. Lyrakos and I. Dimoliatis developed the validation and translation protocol and worked on all aspects of the procedure from conceptualization to the writing of the final manuscript and G. Lyrakos also conducted the statistical analysis. G. Kostopanagiotou was the president of the Expert’s committee. D. Damigos and V. Mavreas read and approved the final manuscript.

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Table 5 The final version of the GrLOT-R
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Lyrakos, G.N., Damigos, D., Mavreas, V. et al. A Translation and Validation Study of the Life Orientation Test Revised in the Greek Speaking Population of Nurses among Three Hospitals in Athens and Ioannina. Soc Indic Res 95, 129–142 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9453-6

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