What makes you stronger: age and cohort differences in personal growth after cancer

Using two waves of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States, I compare changes in personal growth over a 10 year period among cancer survivors and individuals without cancer. Moreover, I examine joint effects of age and cohort on personal growth after a cancer diagnosis. The theoretical framework of this study integrates impairment, resilience, and thriving perspectives. Findings reveal that, although personal growth declines with age for all individuals regardless of cohort and cancer status, cancer slows the decline in personal growth with age in 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s birth cohorts, yet accelerates the age-related decline in the 1920s cohort. I argue that a sociological perspective can enhance our understanding of the interplay of developmental and sociocultural influences on psychological adjustment to cancer. Seemingly idiosyncratic psychological reactions to cancer partly reflect macrolevel processes represented by cohort differences.