Personality Strengths as Resilience: A One-Year Multiwave Study
Fallon R Goodman1, David J Disabato1, Todd B Kashdan1
1George Mason University.
Journal of Personality
|February 27, 2016
Summary
Hope is the key personality strength for resilience, buffering against negative life events. This prospective study highlights hope
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Resilience Research
- Positive Psychology
Background:
- Personality strengths are increasingly recognized for their role in well-being.
- Understanding how these strengths influence reactions to adversity is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To prospectively examine the role of seven personality strengths in predicting reactions to negative life events.
- To differentiate between true resilience factors and concurrent associations.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study with 797 adults across 42 countries over 1 year.
- Five assessment waves measuring personality strengths, subjective well-being, and negative life events.
- Hierarchical linear modeling with lagged and non-lagged analyses.
Main Results:
- Only hope prospectively predicted resilience, acting as a significant buffer against negative life events.
- Non-lagged analyses erroneously suggested all seven strengths conferred resilience.
- Hope, defined as goal-directed thinking and motivation, was critical for promoting resilience.
Conclusions:
- Prospective, lagged analyses are essential for accurate resilience research.
- Hope uniquely confers resilience, while other strengths may show concurrent associations.
- Methodological rigor is vital to avoid erroneous conclusions in psychological research.
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