Psychological resilience, positive emotions, and successful adaptation to stress in later life.

Abstract

In 3 studies, the authors investigated the functional role of psychological resilience and positive emotions in the stress process. Studies 1a and 1b explored naturally occurring daily stressors. Study 2 examined data from a sample of recently bereaved widows. Across studies, multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses revealed that the occurrence of daily positive emotions serves to moderate stress reactivity and mediate stress recovery. Findings also indicated that differences in psychological resilience accounted for meaningful variation in daily emotional responses to stress. Higher levels of trait resilience predicted a weaker association between positive and negative emotions, particularly on days characterized by heightened stress. Finally, findings indicated that over time, the experience of positive emotions functions to assist high-resilient individuals in their ability to recover effectively from daily stress. Implications for research into protective factors that serve to inhibit the scope, severity, and diffusion of daily stressors in later adulthood are discussed.

An Examination of the Broaden-and-Build Model of Positive Emotions in Military Marriages: An Actor-Partner Analysis

“…It was suggested that because positive emotions can increase resilience, positive emotions allow persons to develop resources that help them deal with life challenges that in turn lead to life satisfaction (Cohn, Fredrickson, Brown, Mikels, & Conway, 2009). Research supports the claim that psychological resilience is associated with positive emotions especially during stressful times (e.g., Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006). Similar findings were reported with enduring relationships such as marriages.…”

Investigating the effects of conscientiousness on daily stress, affect and physical symptom processes: A daily diary study

“…Positive affect has been proposed as an adaptational mechanism which may protect against the negative effects of stress on health (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000;Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006). Ong and colleagues suggest that the ability to maintain positive emotions in the face of stress is one pathway through which people can successfully adapt to stress and experience better health outcomes.…”

Resilience and mental health

“…Together these criticisms have cast doubt on the utility of resilience as a theoretical construct. For example, some researchers have investigated resilience (or ‗resiliency') as an individual trait (Ong, Bergeman, Bisconti, & Wallace, 2006) or an epiphenomenon of adaptive temperament (Wachs, 2006). In some studies (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003) habitual effective coping as a durable personal resource is considered to constitute a facet of trait resilience, which functions as a reserve that can be drawn on as a buffer against a wide range of future adversities.…”

“…The promotion approach ( Figure 2): Some researchers have associated the concept of resilience with promotion of mental health (Ong et al, 2006;Patel & Goodman, 2007). This approach focuses on the development of additional resources, which can be used (applied for) by harmreduction and protection mechanisms (analogous to pre-immunization or a general strengthening of the immune system), but has been mainly associated with high individual levels of positive experience (Fredrickson, 2004;Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002).…”

“…criminality and worse relationship quality) could be explained by the absence of early physical or sexual abuse, which was hypothesized to promote in turn positive psychological well-being as a resilient barrier against later adversity (Collishaw et al, 2007). A meta-analysis concluded that the occurrence of daily positive emotions serves to moderate stress reactivity and mediate stress recovery and that differences in this kind of psychological resilience account for meaningful variation in daily emotional responses to stress (Ong et al, 2006). Higher levels of this kind of resilience predict a weaker association between positive and negative emotions, particularly on days characterized by heightened stress.…”