This study examined the relationship between eustress, the positive response to work demands, and health in 158 hospital nurses. The positive psychological states hope, positive affect, and meaningfulness were used as indicators of eustress, and the psychological state negative affect was used as an indicator of distress. Hope, the belief that one has both the will and the way to accomplish one's goals, had a significant, positive relationship with the perception of health in this sample of hospital nurses.
Bret L. Simmons, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Business Administration, School of Management, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Debra L. Nelson, Ph.D., is Professor of Management and The CBA Associates' Professor, Department of Management, College of Business Administration, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
The authors thank James C. Quick, Thomas A. Wright, the editors, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions in the preparation of this manuscript.
