Stress-related growth and thriving through coping: the roles of personality and cognitive processes - Thriving: Broadening the Paradigm Beyond Illness to Health

Journal of Social Issues, Summer, 1998 by Crystal L. Park

Many versions of this basic transactional model have been proposed (e.g., Aspinwall & Taylor, 1997; Hobfoll, 1989; Holahan & Moos, 1991; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Schaefer & Moos, 1992), and various components or subsystems of these models have been the subject of hundreds of studies (Aldwin, 1994). These coping models traditionally describe the processes by which some people manage to maintain or restore their emotional equilibrium and others succumb to physical or psychological disorder; the hope of such research is to identify pathways by which people can be helped to weather the storms of life relatively intact.

Personal Characteristics and Resources Relevant to Growth and Thriving

What kinds of personal characteristics and other psychosocial resources are most closely related to reports of growth and thriving following stressful encounters? Carver (this issue) notes that many of the characteristics and resources that have been found to lead to better outcomes in terms of distress following stressful encounters are also likely candidates for predicting stress-related growth and thriving. To date, however, only a handful of personal characteristics have been tested as specific predictors or concurrent correlates of stress-related growth and thriving.

Probably the most consistent finding in the literature is that people possessing higher levels of the personality characteristics of optimism and hope - those who expect positive outcomes and who believe they have the ability to attain their goals - are more likely to report experiencing growth in response to stress. This relationship has been reported in studies of people experiencing various life stressors (e.g., Park, Cohen, & Murch, 1996; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996) as well as in studies of people experiencing particular stressors such as bone marrow transplants (Curbow, Somerfield, Baker, Wingard, & Legro, 1993), chronic fibromyalgia pain (Affleck & Tennen, 1996), and bereavement (Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, & Larson, 1998).

Several studies have reported relationships between stress-related growth or thriving and other personal characteristics, including spirituality or religiousness (e.g., Aldwin, Sutton, & Lachman, 1996; Park et al., 1996), religious participation (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), and extroversion (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Finally, women often report experiencing more stress-related growth than men (e.g., Park et al., 1996; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), although not all studies have found a gender difference (e.g., Hettler & Cohen, 1997).

Research also suggests a role for social resources in predicting growth. Individuals confronting stressful circumstances may be more likely to experience stress-related growth and thriving if they possess relatively strong social resources and current life situations. For example, Park et al. (1996) found that social support, particularly individuals' satisfaction with their support, was moderately positively related to reports of stress-related growth. In addition, experiencing more positive life events in the same 6-month period as that in which their stressful life event occurred predicted more stress-related growth from the negative event.