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Continuous Versus Grouping Approaches to Resilience: Predicting Mental Health Following Adversity in Two Longitudinal
Lauren R Borchers1, Chase Antonacci1, William E Copeland2
1Stanford University, Stanford, California.
JAACAP Open
|June 1, 2026
Summary
A continuous measure of resilience, defined as functioning better than expected given adversity, predicts fewer adolescent mental health problems. This approach identifies more resilient individuals than traditional grouping methods, highlighting its importance for mental health research.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Traditional definitions of resilience in psychiatry focus on the absence of psychopathology after early adversity.
- An alternative operationalization views resilience as a continuous construct, measuring functioning relative to adversity exposure.
- Longitudinal studies are crucial for understanding the development of resilience and its impact on mental health over time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To operationalize resilience as a continuous metric and predict mental health problems in two longitudinal cohorts.
- To compare the predictive utility of a continuous resilience measure against conventional grouping approaches.
- To investigate the relationship between childhood resilience and adolescent mental health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Assessed early adversity exposure at baseline in two samples (N=1,265 and N=191).
- Measured mental health symptoms longitudinally from age 9 to 21.
- Defined resilience as the residual of mental health symptoms after accounting for early adversity, analyzed using generalized additive models.
Main Results:
- Greater resilience to adversity in childhood significantly predicted fewer mental health problems in adolescence in both studies.
- Both continuous and grouping approaches to resilience predicted unique variance in mental health symptoms.
- The continuous approach identified a larger number of resilient individuals compared to grouping methods.
Conclusions:
- A continuous operationalization of resilience effectively predicts adolescent mental health symptoms.
- Continuous and categorical resilience measures offer unique predictive insights into mental health outcomes.
- Grouping approaches may underestimate the prevalence of resilience, underscoring the need for continuous assessment in mental health research.
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