On hardiness and other pathways to resilience.

On Hardiness and Other Pathways to Resilience Salvatore R. Maddi University of California, Irvine Bonanno’s (January 2004) recent, excellent article is a compelling analysis of several different reactions to extremely aversive events. With regard to major stressors, such as the death of a loved one or the experi- ence a life-threatening circumstance. there is. notably, not only the psychopathological breakdown (e.g., posttraumatic stress dis- order [PFSD] or depressive disorder) that has been emphasized but also the less rec- ognized resilient response, in which there is little or no loss of functioning. Whereas the emphasis in the breakdown response is understandably on treannent that facilitates recovery, the resilient response may re- quire little but the person&#39;s own ongo- ing efforts in life to continue effectively. Indeed, Bonanno suggested that the typi- cal treatment efforts following traumatic events might actually undermine the resil- ient person&#39;s adjustment efforts. Bonanno&#39;s conceptualization and supportive research evidence advance our understanding of indi- viduals&#39; reactions to massive stressors. Further. Bonanno (2004) argued that there are multiple pathways to resilience under stress. and he identiﬁed personality hardiness as one of them. His presentation _of hardiness accurately emphasizes its in- terrelated attitudes of commitment (rather. than alienation), control (rather than power- lessness), and challenge (rather than threat) but does not cover how this concept has evolved over the last 25 years. Coordinat- ing theory, research, and practice over this period of time. I have concluded (Maddi, 2002) that hardy attitudes amount to the courage and motivation to face stressors accurately (rather than to deny or cata- strophize them). This courage and motiva- tion lead to coping by problem solving rather than by avoiding and to interacting with others by giving and getting assistance and encouragement rather than by striking out or ovcrprotecting. Thus, personality hardiness is emerging as a pattern of atti- tudes and actions that helps in transfonning stressors from potential disasters into growth opportunities. Findings have shown that hardiness enhances resiliency in a wide range of stressful circumstances. such as when nurses regularly confront death and dying in hospice settings, or when statistical con- sultants experience culture shock in their work overseas. or when immigrants arrive in the United States; indeed, hardiness en- hances resiliency in response to the ongo- ing demands and pressures of everyday life (Maddi, 2002). Of particular relevance to Bonanno’s (2004) article are the ﬁndings of several studies in which Bartone (1999) measured hardiness levels in military per- sonnel just before they left this country for overseas service in combat or peace- keeping missions. The higher their hardi- ness level, the less likely these soldiers were to develop PTSD or depressive disor- ders following the experience of life-threat- ening stressors. The H m-R q(WWI Khoshaba, 200i) is a 65-item questionnaire with considerable reliability and validity that measures the attitudes, coping strate- gies. and interaction patterns of hardiness. This test can be administered in hard copy form or on the Internet. and it generates a comprehensive report. As Bonanno (2004) pointed out. subjecting resilient people to clinical interventions following major stressors may actually undermine their ‘functioning. ltimay be useful, therefore, to evaluate such personality characteris- tics as hardiness (by administering the l-lardisurvey III-R) to persons who have either just experienced trauma or are likely to because of their work and social pat- terns. Such an approach may facilitate in- formed decisions as to how to proceed according to a person&#39;s need after experi- encing a major stressor. There is also a training program (Khoshaba & Maddi, 2001), based on the- ory, research, and practice, that emphasizes several sessions and a workbook to en- hance the attitudes, coping strategies, and interaction patterns of hardiness. Thus far, research has shown that among people completing the training, students subse- quently improve in grade point average, college retention rates, and health, and working adults improve in performance. job satisfaction, and health (Maddi. 2002). Building on Bonanno&#39;s (2004) argument. I propose that the HardiTraining program may be especially useful for people who are at risk of encountering major stressors because of their occupations or life circumstances. Finally, Bonanno (2004) identiﬁed several other pathways to resiliency under stress besides hardiness. These include self-enhancement (an overly positive bias about oneself). repressive coping (render- ing unpleasant tmotions unconscious), and positive emotion/laughter (expressing pos- itivity). Thcse three pathways are not only different from each other but are also no- tably different from the concept of hardi- ness and the courage and hard work em- phasized in that pathway. If these three pathways can be measured adequately. it would be useful to engage in research com- paring their power in evoking resiliency under stress with that of personality hardi- ness. Are these four pathways empirically different enough from each other to be con- sidered scparately? If so, is one or another of them the most effective, or are combi- nations of pathways better than single ones? Bonanno&#39;s exciting position has opened the way for such comparative ana- A lyric research (Maddi. 1996) through which researchers can further their current knowl- edge concerning how resilience under stress comes about. REFERENCES Banone, P. T. (1999). Hardiness protects against war-related stress in Army Reserve forces. Consulting Psychology Journal, 51, 72- 82. Bonanno. G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and hu- man resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aver- sive events? American Psychologist, 59, 20-28. Khoshaba. D. M.. & Maddi, S. R. (2001). lIardt&#39;Training (4th ed.). Newport Beach. CA: Hardiness Institute. Maddi. S. R. (1996). Personality theories.’ A comparative analysis (6th ed.). Prospect Heights. IL: Waveland Press. Maddi. S. R. (2002). The story of hardiness: Twenty years of theorizing. research. and practice. Consulting Psychology Journal, 54, 173-185. Maddi. S. R., & Khoshaba, D. M. (2001). Hardisurvey III-R: Test development and internet instruction manual (4th ed.). New- port Beach, CA: Hardiness Institute. Correspondence concerning this comment should be addressed to Salvatore R. Maddi. Har- diness lnstitute, 4425 Jamboree, Suite 100. Newport Beach. CA 92660-3204. F.-mail: srmaddi@uci.edu