DOES WELL-BEING PREDICT RESILIENCE IN ADOLESCENTS? Paul Jose Victoria Univ. of Wellington New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology conference Auckland, New Zealand 8 June, 2013
Feb 24, 2016
DOES WELL-BEING PREDICT
RESILIENCE IN ADOLESCENTS?
Paul JoseVictoria Univ. of Wellington
New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology conference
Auckland, New Zealand8 June, 2013
USUAL QUESTION: DOES RESILIENCE PREDICT WELLBEING? Resilience is considered to be a
characteristic/process that enables individuals to weather difficult times. Should be predictive of positive outcomes, or at least ‘less negative outcomes’. Considerable evidence of this relationship.
I am turning the equation around and asking the ‘broaden-and-build’ question: does wellbeing lead to greater resilience?
RISK AND RESILIENCE In psychiatric theory and research, there is
a long-standing interest in identifying risk factors in development Risk factors are influences that heighten the
odds of greater maladaptation, i.e., an alcoholic parent is predictive of poorer outcomes in children
Similarly, research has tried to identify factors that protect against maladaptation Resilience factors lessen the odds of greater
maladaptation, i.e., social resources like intact families as well as internal characteristics such as a sense of humour
PERSON-CENTRED TO PROCESS-ORIENTED Initial formulations of resilience located
the “good stuff” in the person, i.e., “the invulnerable child”
But following Bronfenbrenner’s emphasis on the interactions between person and their multiple contexts, resilience research has evolved to become more process-oriented
Today, we believe that resilient children and adolescents possess certain qualities that allow them to interact with their contexts well
TYPICAL DEFINITION Resilience is imputed when one sees:
good outcomes regardless of high-risk status, constant competence under stress, recovery from trauma, and using challenges for growth that makes future
hardships more tolerable. The emphasis, you will note, is on doing well
in the face of hardship. Growing consensus that resilient individuals
are successful because of: Adaptive coping strategies, Successful emotion-regulation, and Social resources
PROCESS MODEL Focus of the present study: Does a sense of
greater well-being or positive affect foster or increase resilient tendencies one year later?
Based on Fredrickson’s “broaden-and-build” theory which states that higher positive affect fosters great competence and striving (resilience?)
We measured three constructs that we thought would be related to each other over time: Self-reports of the self as resilient; Positive affect; and Well-being (aspirations; pos relations with others; and
confidence) We sought to test the particular process model
presented on the next page
DO HAPPY, WELL-ADJUSTED ADOLESCENTS EVIDENCE GREATER RESILIENCE OVER TIME?
Positive Affect
Well-being Resilient
self-desc
THE YOUTH CONNECTEDNESS PROJECT Jan Pryor and I received financial
support from the FRST Foundation to study adolescent development over three years time
Focus of this research endeavour was to study the function of social connectedness in promoting better adjustment in adolescents
It is a large scale longitudinal study (once a year for three years) largely representative of NZ youth
SAMPLE 1,774 New Zealand adolescents (10-15
years at Y1) participated in a self-report study annually for three years
Recruited from about 100 schools scattered around the North Island
Almost a nationally representative sample: fewer rural kids, overrepresentation of Maori, no South Island participants
All measures yielded Cronbach’s alphas > .80.
MEASURES Wagnild and Young’s Resilience Scale
(1993). The four items were: “I keep myself busy and interested in things”, “I try not to take things too seriously”, “My belief in myself gets me through hard
times” and “I can find a way to fix my problems”
Well-being consisted of three subscales of 3 or 4 items each adapted from the Ryff Wellbeing Scales (Ryff & Keyes, 1995): aspirations, positive relations with others, and Confidence
Positive affect (e.g., “I was happy”)
RESULTS A repeated-measures MANOVA showed
that:Positive affect and well-being decreased
slightly over 3 years, butResilience did not change much
These results are generally supportive of the idea that resilience is trait-like, and that adolescent positive affect decreases during middle adolescence
LATENT VARIABLE LONGITUDINAL PATH MODELS: PROPOSED MODEL
Well-being T1
Positive Affect T3
Positive Affect T2
Positive Affect T1
Well-being T2
Well-being T3
ResilienceT2
Resilience T3
Resilience T1
OBTAINED MODEL
Well-being T1
Positive Affect T3
Positive Affect T2
Positive Affect T1
Well-being T2
Well-being T3
ResilienceT2
Resilience T3
Resilience T1
.24***
.15***
.20***
.07*
.13***.16***
WHAT IS IMPORTANT HERE? It seems that we obtained some support
for Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory in that an adolescent with higher well-being at a given point in time is likely to report higher resilience at a later point in time (residualised: change in resilience).
Positive affect (being happy) seems to be an outcome, not a driver of later states
Resilience fosters greater well-being, and well-being in turn fosters greater resilience
Next step? A study of mechanisms.
WHAT MEDIATES BETWEEN RESILIENCE AND WB?
SIMPLER DEPICTION
Resilience slope
Social provisions slope
Well-being Slope
“Slope” refers to change in the variable over the three timesof measurement.
LATENT GROWTH CURVE MEDIATION Might “social provisions” (Cutrona &
Russell, 1987) (positive aspects of social support) mediate between resilience and well-being
Answer: Yes. We found a significant bootstrapped indirect effect; about 37% of the total effect was mediated through social provisions.
HOW ABOUT THE REVERSE?WB => SOC PROV => RESILIENCE Answer: No. Thus, it seems that well-being does not
promote resilience through increasing social provisions.
WHAT MEDIATES BETWEEN RESILIENCE AND WELL-BEING?
IV Mediator Indirect/Direct ratio
DV
Resilience
Reliable Alliance (+) .54** Well-being
Guidance (+) .38**
Reassurance of Worth (+)
.65**
Lack of self-confidence (-)
.09*
Avoidance (-) .30**
WHAT MEDIATES BETWEEN WELL-BEING AND RESILIENCE?
IV Mediator Indirect/Direct ratio
DV
Well-being
Lack of self-confidence (-)
.07* Resilience
Rumination (-) .30**
Avoidance (-) .79**
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Resilience seems to lead to both increased
positive attributes AND decreased negative attributes, which in turn lead to greater well-being:Higher social provisions (Cutrona & Russell)Lower lack of self-confidence, avoidance
Well-being seems to lead to greater resilience only through reductions in negative dynamics:Lower lack of self-confidence, rumination, and
avoidance Not perfectly symmetrical, interesting to note
FUTURE DIRECTIONS We need to separate the hedonic (being
happy) from the eudaimonic (meaning of life) better so that we can identify how each contributes to resilience separately
How do these variables relate to coping strategies (problem-solving, reframing, etc.), social support, and social connectedness?
We intend to investigate moderators as well: age, gender, ethnicity, rural/urban, etc.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF AN INTERVENTION The YCP dataset is a subject variable
study: nothing is manipulated. Can resilience be fostered? The previous
findings suggest that it can, but how? Olivia Notter and I set out to explicitly
increase resilience in a small group of at-risk 13-yr-olds (key findings from her PhD thesis)
COMPARISON OF TWO INTERVENTIONS Kiwi-Ace: a CBT-based programme
designed to reduce depression by reducing illogical thinking
PAL (Positive Approaches to Life): our own programme designed to encourage the use of various positive psychology techniques:Gratitude Identifying strengths (& using them)Enjoying life (savouring and obtaining flow)Building relationshipsLiking who I am
SMALL GROUPS 27 in Kiwi-Ace, 38 in PAL, and equal
numbers of control individuals Obtained from 9 secondary schools in
the lower North Island Participants were recruited after a mass
screening (over 1,000 students), we approached at-risk adolescents who were mid-range in depressive symptoms on the CDI
PROCEDURE Small groups of 13-yr-olds received
twelve one-hour sessions during class time over twelve consecutive weeks.
Sessions were provided by the in-school guidance counsellor plus an external clinical psychologist specifically trained in the two interventions.
Assessed on all variables immediately after the intervention ended (T2), 6 months later (T3), and 12 months later (T4).
RESULTS: EFFECT OF KIWI-ACE ON DEPRESSION
T1 T2 T3 T49
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Kiwi-AceControl
RESULTS: EFFECT OF PAL ON DEPRESSION
T1 T2 T3 T49
10
11
12
13
14
15
PALControl
LET’S FOCUS ON PAL We expected that PAL would lead to
increases in a variety of positive outcomes:Psychological well-beingSatisfaction with lifeSubjective happinessGratitudeResilience
Yes to all of these variables at all three subsequent time points
PAL LED TO AN INCREASE IN SELF-REPORTED RESILIENCE
T1 T2 T3 T465
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
PALControl
ANY EVIDENCE FOR WHAT LED TO GREATER RESILIENCE? We performed a set of longitudinal
mediation analyses, and found the following mediators between PAL and subsequent resilience:GratitudeLife satisfactionSubjective happiness
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? With both a subject variable and a quasi-
experimental study, we saw that certain variables seem to foster greater resilience
Common thread between the two studies: well-being and happiness seems to “broaden and build” a young person’s ability to weather stressful events
I particularly like gratitude as a mechanism: young people who feel entitled tend to be brittle, whereas young people who appreciate the good things in their lives tend to be more resilient/realistic.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS I think a large-scale replication of the
PAL intervention is merited after these promising preliminary findings
Geelong Grammar School project (with input from Martin Seligman) seeks to do something similar
THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION For more information:
[email protected] Thanks to Olivia Notter, the YCP
research team, all participants, schools, and school personnel.