How resilient are resilience scales? The Big Five scales outperform resilience scales in predicting adjustment in adolescents

Psychological resilience: Predictors and measurement among Israel Defense Force combat officer candidates

The goal of the current study was to develop a resilience selection tool for combat officers that would augment the test battery at the Israel Defense Force (IDF) Officer Selection Center (OSC). To enable this goal, we sought to explore the underlying structure of resilience in a diverse number of resilience predictors. Participants were 1,533 male candidates at the IDF OSC. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis, 159 items from 13 separate resilience scales were refined into a single, 18-item psychological resilience scale. The new scale emphasizes self-efficacy, competency and overall positive self-perception. The new scale is tailored specifically to military combat officers. Initial construct validity was demonstrated against Big Five dimensions and psychological evaluations at IDF OSC. Predictive validity was demonstrated against command and peer evaluations from IDF Officer Training School (OTS). Medium to strong positive correlations were found between the resilience scale and Big Five dimensions of Extroversion and Conscientiousness, as well as a medium negative correlation with Neuroticism. Low but significant correlations were found between the resilience measure and psychological evaluations of combat officer vocational congruence. Low but significant correlations were also found with command and peer evaluations from Officer Training School. Resilience scale scores were found to predict OTS commander evaluations, but not OTS peer evaluations, beyond standard OSC scores when controlling for demographic variables. The theoretical importance of findings as well as implications for military officer selection are discussed.

Stability of resilience in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

There is disagreement among researchers regarding the conceptualization of resilience as a dynamic state or stable trait. Aiming to shed light on the state-versus-trait debate, we explored the stability and construct validity of four of the most frequently utilized state or trait resilience scales in a longitudinal assessment. Additionally, we examined the predictive validity of these scales. Our study was conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which served as collectively experienced adversity. Correlations among the resilience scales and among resilience scales and Big Five personality traits were strong. All except one scale showed high test-retest correlations. Experience of an additional critical life event during the pandemic led to an increase in resilience. Other than in cross-sectional studies, associations between resilience and psychological distress were weak, because personality and baseline psychological distress were controlled for. Nevertheless, next to personality, resilience explained additional variance in distress change. Our results show relatively high stability of resilience overall. Yet, they also confirm dynamic resilience features, suggesting that resilience change occurs with significant adversity, leading to improved adaptation. To gauge the true association between resilience and mental health, baseline levels of these variables as well as personality traits should be considered.

The sporting resilience model: A systematic review of resilience in sport performers

We systematically reviewed resilience research in sport and exercise psychology. Sample included 92 studies comprising empirical qualitative and quantitative studies, mixed-method studies, review studies and conceptual/theoretical studies on psychological resilience in sports context. From the findings, we synthesized an evidence-based sport-specific definition and meta-model of "Sporting Resilience." The review incorporates evidence from global culture contexts and evidence synthesized into the new definition and meta-model to achieve its aim. Conceptual detail and testability of the operational definition is provided. Sporting resilience provides a guiding framework for research and applied practice in a testable, objective manner. The new theoretical meta-model of resilience is derived from systematic evidence from sport psychology with theoretical considerations from positive and clinical psychology allowing generalizability. This original theory posits that there is a resilience filter comprised of biopsychosocial protective factors. The strength of this filter determines the impact of adversity and establishes the trajectory of positive adaptation. The findings of the review are used to discuss potential avenues of future research for psychological resilience in sports psychology.

Systematic review registration

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AFWRU.

Individual differences in resilience to stress are associated with affective flexibility

Cognitive flexibility is frequently linked to resilience because of its important contribution to stress regulation. In this context, particularly affective flexibility, defined as the ability to flexibly attend and disengage from affective information, may play a significant role. In the present study, the relationship of cognitive and affective flexibility and resilience was examined in 100 healthy participants. Resilience was measured with three self-report questionnaires, two defining resilience as a personality trait and one focusing on resilience as an outcome in the sense of stress coping abilities. Cognitive and affective flexibility were assessed in two experimental task switching paradigms with non-affective and affective materials and tasks, respectively. The cognitive flexibility paradigm additionally included measures of cognitive stability and spontaneous switching in ambiguous situations. In the affective flexibility paradigm, we explicitly considered the affective valence of the stimuli. Response time switch costs in the affective flexibility paradigm were significantly correlated to all three measures of resilience. The correlation was not specific for particular valences of the stimuli before or during switching. For cognitive (non-affective) flexibility, a significant correlation of response time switch costs was found with only one resilience measure. A regression analysis including both affective and cognitive switch costs as predictors of resilience indicated that only affective, but not cognitive switch costs, explained unique variance components. Furthermore, the experimental measures of cognitive stability and the rate of spontaneous switching in ambiguous situations did not correlate with resilience scores. These findings suggest that specifically the efficiency of flexibly switching between affective and non-affective information is related to resilience.

Factors associated with insomnia and suicidal thoughts among outpatients, healthcare workers, and the general population in Taiwan during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Insomnia and suicidal thoughts are two of the negative impacts that have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Identifying the factors that contribute to these psychological problems may help develop strategies to sustain the mental health of the public. The present study examined the psychosocial impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic among different populations in Taiwan, and investigated the relationships between these psychosocial variables, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts.

METHODS

Between September 2020 and May 2021, online questionnaires including psychometrically validated scales were distributed to a convenience sample of outpatients (n = 205), healthcare workers (HCWs) (n = 500), and individuals in the general population (n = 1200) in Taiwan to collect data regarding their insomnia severity, suicidal thoughts, fear of COVID-19, trust of information, and resilience. Multivariate logistic regression methods were used to identify variables associated with suicidal thoughts and insomnia.

RESULTS

Greater fear of COVID-19 was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts: odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.155 (1.002-1.330) for outpatients; 1.127 (1.035-1.228) for HCWs; and 1.100 (1.130-1.222) for those in the general population. Higher resilience was significantly associated with lower insomnia: OR (95% CI) = 0.819 (0.725-0.926) for outpatients; 0.803 (0.728-0.887), for HCWs; 0.829 (0.785-0.875), and for those in the general population. In addition, there was a statistically significant association between insomnia diagnosis and greater fear of COVID-19 among HCWs (OR [95% CI] = 1.102 [1.062-1.144]) and those in the general population (OR [95% CI] = 1.079 [1.053-1.106]). Among outpatients, there was a statistically significant association between suicidal thoughts and lower trust of information (OR [95% CI] = 0.794 [0.646-0.976]), while among those in the general population there was a statistically significant association between suicidal thoughts and higher insomnia severity (OR [95% CI] = 1.175 [1.13-1.222]). A statistically significant association was also found between insomnia diagnosis and higher suicidal thoughts among those in the general population (OR [95% CI] = 3.455 [2.338-5.106]).

CONCLUSIONS

Trust of information, fear, and resilience were important factors for suppressing suicidal thoughts and insomnia among the three study populations. Health policies that monitor psychological status and build resiliency of the public are recommended to help develop tailored strategies for different populations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personality Traits, Technology-Related Teaching Skills, and Coping Mechanisms as Antecedents of Teachers' Job-Related Affective Well-Being and Burnout in Compulsory and Higher Education Online Teaching Settings

Teachers’ job-related well-being has been affected by the sudden shift to emergency remote online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has totally reshaped the task performance. Therefore, this study attempts to enlighten the possible reasons for the deterioration in teachers’ job-related well-being and proposes an integrated application of three models of prediction for job-related affective well-being and burnout as teachers’ indicators for the well-being in online teaching settings. The first model includes personality traits (extroversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness) measured with the revised neuroticism, extroversion, and openness personality inventory (NEO-PI-R). The second model integrates an indispensable skill for the online teaching which is technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK) as technology-related teaching skill conceptualized by the TPACK framework. The TPACK model is a technology integration that identifies three types of knowledge instructors need to combine for successful EdTech integration - technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (i.e., TPACK). The third model, a multidimensional one, includes coping mechanisms (e.g., problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, social support coping, and avoidant coping) as mediators in the relationship between personality traits and TPCK on the one side, and job-related well-being indicators on the other side. Findings from regression analyses were used to test the first two models, and the findings from a mediation analysis were used to test the third model to show that teachers’ TPCK explains a significant amount of variance in the job-related affective well-being of the teachers. The analyses also demonstrate that avoidant coping particularly mediates the relation between burnout and job-related affective well-being during COVID-19 school closures. Results indicate the efficacy of the TPACK model in increasing the job-related well-being of the teachers. The analysis of the data led to recommend that teachers should improve their personal technology-related teaching skills and adopt coping strategies in consistent with their personality traits. Moreover, public schools, as organizations, could advance educational technology programs to enhance technology-related teaching skills with the aim of increasing the well-being of their employees in online teaching settings.

Adults who are more anxious and were anxiously attached as children report later first memories

Here, we examined retrospective reports of adults' earliest autobiographical memory, the age of this report and whether the reported age was associated with exposure to early life adversity, current anxiety and childhood attachment. Across four studies, we found that reporting a later 'earliest' memory was associated with higher self-reported anxiety in both American (Studies 1, 2 and 4) and Australian (Study 3) samples. Furthermore, in Studies 2-4, we found that reporting a later earliest memory uniquely predicted anxiety when controlling for number of adverse childhood events (a risk factor for the development of anxiety). In Study 4, we established that this relation is partially mediated by childhood anxious attachment. Although we consistently demonstrated that later earliest memories were associated with current anxiety, we found little evidence for a relation between reported age at the time of earliest memory and childhood adversity. We also found no evidence of gender differences in the associations of interest. These results suggest that poorer memory of early childhood is associated with greater childhood anxious attachment and anxiety in adulthood. The implications of this work are discussed in terms of the adaptive nature of autobiographical memory and the development of a coherent life narrative.

When problems just bounce back: about the relation between resilience and academic success in German tertiary education

While in the past the concept of resilience was used to explain psychological well-being in extreme situations like enduring poverty, abuse, or war, it has now found broad application in numerous fields of research. It can also be applied to examine how everyday challenges and problems are dealt with, for example in the educational and university context. This raises the question of whether resilience and academic success are correlated. Using German longitudinal data including university and university of applied sciences students in their first four years (2010–2015) we investigate how resilience and various measurements of success (satisfaction, intention to drop out, grades) are correlated using multilevel growth-curve models. We demonstrate that resilient individuals have consistently more positive academic trajectories, have lower dropout intentions, report better grades and are more satisfied with their lives. The effects are exceptionally stable over time, statistically highly significant and of considerable magnitude. This demonstrates that resilience is associated with better outcomes in university students under control of a large number of potential confounding factors and influences.

Resilience and personality as predictors of the biological stress load during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, pandemic-specific stressors have potentiated the-already severe-stress load across the world. However, stress is more than an adverse state, and chronic exposure is causally involved in the development of mental and physical disease. We ask the question whether resilience and the Big Five personality traits predict the biological stress response to the first lockdown in Germany. In a prospective, longitudinal, observational study, N = 80 adult volunteers completed an internet-based survey prior to the first Covid-19-related fatality in Germany (T0), during the first lockdown period (T1), and during the subsequent period of contact restrictions (T2). Hair strands for the assessment of systemic cortisol and cortisone levels were collected at T2. Higher neuroticism predicted higher hair cortisol, cortisone and subjective stress levels. Higher extraversion predicted higher hair cortisone levels. Resilience showed no effects on subjective or physiological stress markers. Our study provides longitudinal evidence that neuroticism and extraversion have predictive utility for the accumulation of biological stress over the course of the pandemic. While in pre-pandemic times individuals high in neuroticism are typically at risk for worse health outcomes, extraverted individuals tend to be protected. We conclude that, in the pandemic context, we cannot simply generalize from pre-pandemic knowledge. Neurotic individuals may currently suffer due to their general emotional lability. Extraverted individuals may primarily be socially stressed. Individualized stress management programs need to be developed, and offered in a lockdown-friendly format, to minimize the stress burden caused by Covid-19 or future pandemics and to protect the most severely affected individuals from the development of stress-associated disease.

Decoding the link between personality traits and resilience. Self-determination is the key

BACKGROUND

Resilience is described as a process where an individual mobilizes his personal and external resources to overcome stressors and trauma. As a consequence, researchers tried to identify the factors that contribute to resilience with the aim of developing valid psychological interventions that target resilience. Many authors have stated that personality traits represent an important category of predictors of resilience. The most important relationships were found between high levels of extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability and resilience.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

We relied on a community sample (N = 252, Mage = 26.38, SD = 10.17, 62.5% women, 39.5% men) to test the hypothesized indirect relationship between the Big Five personality traits, self-determination, and resilience. The participants were voluntarily recruited from various social media platforms. The participants completed measures of Big Five personality factors, self-determination, and resilience.

RESULTS

We found that all the Big Five factors were positively related to resilience. Impersonal orientation (low self-determination) mediated the relationship between extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness on the one hand and resilience on the other hand.

CONCLUSIONS

Relying on the low impersonal orientation components (e.g., sense of competence, determination, lack of anxiety, or depression) scientists and practitioners can enhance resilience by teaching their clients to be more self-determined. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Resilience as a Protective Factor in Basic Military Training, a Longitudinal Study of the Swiss Armed Forces

For recruits, basic military training (BMT) can be experienced as a stressful episode in which relevant protective factors such as resilience might be essential for successful completion of the training. The present study examined whether resilience would act as a protective factor during BMT in the Swiss Armed Forces. To this end, we conducted a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of resilience and psychological burden. At the beginning of the BMT and at week 11, 525 male recruits (mean age: 20.3 years) completed a series of questionnaires covering demographic information and assessing resilience, perceived stress and mental distress. In parallel, their superiors rated recruits' military performance in week 13. Dropout rates were also registered. Cross-sectionally and longitudinally, higher resilience scores predicted lower scores for perceived stress, mental distress, and better military performance. Higher self-rated resilience was moderately associated with military performance, as rated by recruits' superiors. Resilience scores, perceived stress and mental distress did not differ between those recruits continuing their BMT and dropouts. In support of our assumptions, resilience acted as a protective factor during Swiss Armed Forces BMT.

Resilience matters: Explaining the association between personality and psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic

The objective of the study was to elucidate the underlying mechanism through which basic personality dimensions predict indicators of psychological functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, including subjective well-being and perceived stress. As a personality characteristic highly contextualized in stressful circumstances, resilience was expected to have a mediating role in this relationship.

METHOD

A sample of 2,722 Slovene adults, aged from 18 to 82 years filled in the Big Five Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Mental Health Continuum. A path analysis with the Bootstrap estimation procedure was performed to evaluate the mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between personality and psychological functioning.

RESULTS

Resilience fully or partially mediated the relationships between all the Big Five but extraversion with subjective well-being and stress experienced at the beginning of the COVID-19 outburst. Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of less adaptive psychological functioning both directly and through diminished resilience.

CONCLUSIONS

Resilience may be a major protective factor required for an adaptive response of an individual in stressful situations such as pandemic and the associated lockdown.

Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Background

The coronavirus diseases of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was classified as one of the worst pandemics in the 21st century. Its rapid transmission, unpredicted mortality rate, and the uncertainty surrounding its transmission method have evoked additional fear and anxiety. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge, no prior study has explored PTSD prevalence three months after the start of the quarantine procedures in Saudi Arabia nor has examined PTSD prevalence by three different methods.

Objective

This observational cross-sectional study aimed to identify the prevalence, severity, and influencing factors of PTSD in different regions of Saudi Arabia three months after the onset of the quarantine procedures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Through the month of June 2020, 1374 people (49.05% men and 50.95% women) completed a 35-item, 10-minute online. The prevalence of PTSD was measured using PCL-S (specific for COVID-19) that assesses the 17 symptoms of PTSD. Resilience was measured using 2-items Arabic version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 2 (CD-RISC 2).

Results

We calculated the prevalence by three methods, namely, PTSD cut-off score, criteria, and combined, and the prevalence was 22.63%, 24.8%, and 19.6%, respectively. Female participants showed higher prevalence than male. As well, participants who were either tested positive or suspected of having been infected with COVID-19 showed higher PTSD prevalence. Higher resilience was associated with lower PTSD prevalence.

Conclusions

This was the first study to report PTSD prevalence by three differential methods three months after the onset of the quarantine procedures related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. We observed a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Saudi population; therefore, great attention should be performed in implementing new procedures that deal with the highlighted risk factors, especially in vulnerable groups, to overcome the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maladaptive Personality Traits and 10-Year Course of Psychiatric and Medical Symptoms and Functional Impairment Following Trauma

Background

Personality is a major predictor of many mental and physical disorders, but its contributions to illness course are understudied.

Purpose

The current study aimed to explore whether personality is associated with a course of psychiatric and medical illness over 10 years following trauma.

Methods

World Trade Center (WTC) responders (N = 532) completed the personality inventory for DSM-5, which measures both broad domains and narrow facets. Responders' mental and physical health was assessed in the decade following the WTC disaster during annual monitoring visits at a WTC Health Program clinic. Multilevel modeling was used in an exploratory manner to chart the course of health and functioning, and examine associations of maladaptive personality domains and facets with intercepts (initial illness) and slopes (course) of illness trajectories.

Results

Three maladaptive personality domains-negative affectivity, detachment and psychoticism-were uniquely associated with initial posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); detachment and psychoticism were also associated with initial functional impairment. Five facets-emotional lability, anhedonia, callousness, distractibility and perceptual dysregulation-were uniquely associated with initial mental and physical health and functional impairment. Anxiousness and depressivity facets were associated with worse initial levels of psychiatric outcomes only. With regard to illness trajectory, callousness and perceptual dysregulation were associated with the increase in PTSD symptoms. Anxiousness was associated with greater persistence of respiratory symptoms.

Conclusions

Several personality domains and facets were associated with initial levels and long-term course of illness and functional impairment in a traumatized population. Results inform the role of maladaptive personality in the development and maintenance of chronic mental-physical comorbidity. Personality might constitute a transdiagnostic prognostic and treatment target.

The relationship between resilience and quality of life in patients with a drainage enterostomy

Impact and adjustment to a drainage enterostomy are measured mainly through health indicators. To investigate the relationship between resilience and adaptation to the placement of a drainage enterostomy. Prospective observational study with a sample of 125 patients (64 men/36 women) with a temporary or permanent drainage enterostomy and a mean age of 66.72 years. High quality of life (mean, 80.5) and resilience (mean, 79.57) scores and a positive relationship between both were found. There seems to be a positive relationship with general quality of life and health-related quality of life. The logistic regression model shows that the main predictor as regards health-related quality of life is resilience.

The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between personality and adjustment to disease in patients with a drainage enterostomy

An understanding of what variables are involved in a better adjustment to chronic disease makes it possible to implement more suitable community healthcare interventions. It also allows the design of educational programmes aimed at increasing the independence of these patients, thereby enabling them to achieve a better health status. Both the personality and the resilience of the patient have been shown to play an important role in the process of adjusting to the new living conditions that result from having a chronic disease. Yet, to date, little research has been conducted in this area. This study uses structural equation modelling to explore the relationships among the personality factors, resilience and the variables of adjustment to disease (i.e. quality of life and level of self-care). The sample consists of 125 patients with a drainage enterostomy. Results show that the relationship model with the best fit is the one that considers resilience as a mediating variable in the relation between personality and disease adjustment variables. The implications of the findings and the limitations of the study are also discussed.

Minority stress, psychological distress, and alcohol misuse among sexual minority young adults: A resiliency-based conditional process analysis

BACKGROUND

Sexual minority young adults experience elevated rates of distal stress (discrimination, victimization), and related psychological distress and alcohol misuse. However, few studies have examined the degree to which personality trait differences confer risk/resilience among sexual minority young adults. We hypothesized that psychological distress would mediate the relationship between distal stress and alcohol misuse, but that these relationships would be moderated by personality trait differences.

METHOD

Sexual minority young adults (N=412) were recruited nationally. Survey measures included demographic questions, minority stressors, Five Factor personality traits, and current psychological distress and alcohol misuse symptoms. We used a data-driven two-stage cluster analytic technique to empirically derive personality trait profiles, and conducted mediation and moderated mediation analyses using a regression-based approach.

RESULTS

Our results supported a two-group personality profile solution. Relative to at-risk individuals, those classified as adaptive scored lower on neuroticism, and higher on agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. As predicted, psychological distress mediated the relationship between distal stress and alcohol misuse. However, personality moderated these relationships to the degree that they did not exist among individuals classified as adaptive.

DISCUSSION

In the current study, we found that personality moderated the established relationships between distal stress, psychological distress, and alcohol misuse among sexual minority young adults. Future research is needed to further explicate these relationships, and in order to develop tailored interventions for sexual minority young adults at risk.

Constructing a short form of the hierarchical personality inventory for children (HiPIC): the HiPIC-30

Children's personality traits are invaluable predictors of concurrent and later mental and physical health. Several validated longer inventories for assessing the widely recognized Five-Factor Model of personality in children are available, but short forms are scarce. This study aimed at constructing a 30-item form of the 144-item Hierarchical Personality Inventory for Children (HiPIC) (Mervielde & De Fruyt, ). Participants were 1543 children aged 6-12 years (sample 1) and 3895 children aged 8 years (sample 2). Sample 1 completed the full HiPIC, from which we constructed the HiPIC-30, and the Child Behaviour Checklist (Achenbach, ). Sample 2 completed the HiPIC-30. The HiPIC-30 personality domains correlated over r = .90 with the full HiPIC domains, had good Cronbach's alphas and correlated similarly with CBCL behaviour problems and gender as the full HiPIC. The factor structures of the HiPIC-30 were convergent across samples, but the imagination factor was not clear-cut. We conclude that the HiPIC-30 is a reliable and valid questionnaire for the Five-Factor personality traits in children. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psychometric properties of the Haitian Creole version of the Resilience Scale with a sample of adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake

BACKGROUND

Resilience is defined as the ability of people to cope with disasters and significant life adversities. The present paper aims to investigate the underlying structure of the Creole version of the Resilience Scale and its psychometric properties using a sample of adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake.

METHODS

A parallel analysis was conducted to determine the number of factors to extract and confirmatory factor analysis was performed using a sample of 1355 adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake from people of specific places where earthquake occurred with an average age of 31.57 (SD=14.42). All participants completed the Creole version of Resilience Scale (RS), the Impact of Event Scale Revised (IES-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Social Support Questionnaire (SQQ-6). To facilitate exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the sample was divided into two subsamples (subsample 1 for EFA and subsample 2 for CFA).

RESULTS

Parallel analysis and confirmatory factor analysis results showed a good-fit 3-factor structure. The Cronbach α coefficient was .79, .74 and .72 respectively for the factor 1, 2 and 3 and correlated to each other. Construct validity of the Resilience scale was provided by significant correlation with measures of depression and social support satisfaction, but no correlation was found with posttraumatic stress disorder measure, except for factor 2.

CONCLUSIONS

The results reveal a different factorial structure including 25 items of the RS. However, the Haitian Creole version of RS is a valid and reliable measure for assessing resilience for adults in Haiti.

Sexual Minority Stress and Suicide Risk: Identifying Resilience through Personality Profile Analysis

BACKGROUND

Sexual minority-based victimization, which includes threats or enacted interpersonal violence, predicts elevated suicide risk among sexual minority individuals. However, research on personality factors that contribute to resilience among sexual minority populations is lacking. Using the Five-Factor Model, we hypothesized that individuals classified as adaptive (versus at-risk) would be at decreased risk for a suicide attempt in the context of reported lifetime victimization.

METHOD

Sexual minority-identified young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 (N=412) were recruited nationally and asked to complete an online survey containing measures of personality, sexual minority stress, and lifetime suicide attempts.

RESULTS

A two-stage cluster analytic method was used to empirically derive latent personality profiles and to classify respondents as adaptive (lower neuroticism and higher extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) or at-risk (higher neuroticism, lower extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) on the basis of their Five Factor Personality trait scores. Adaptive individuals were slightly older and less likely to conceal their sexual orientation, but reported similar rates of victimization, discrimination, and internalized heterosexism as their at-risk counterparts. Logistic regression results indicate that despite reporting similar rates of victimization, which was a significant predictor of lifetime suicide attempt, adaptive individuals evidenced decreased risk for attempted suicide in the context of victimization, relative to at-risk individuals.

DISCUSSION

These findings suggest that an adaptive personality profile may confer resilience in the face of sexual minority-based victimization. This study adds to our knowledge of sexual minority mental health and highlights new directions for future research.

Psychometric properties of the Creole Haitian version of the Resilience Scale amongst child and adolescent survivors of the 2010 earthquake

Resilience is defined as the capacity of human beings to deal with and adapt to adversity, suffering, tragedy or other traumatic event. This study aims to investigate psychometric properties and the underlying structure of the Creole version of the RS among children and adolescents survivors to the 2010 Haitian earthquake. A total of 872 children and adolescents exposed to the earthquake with an average age of 14.91 (SD=1.94) completed the Creole version of RS, the Impact Event Scale-Revised, the Children Depression Inventory and the Social Support Questionnaire-6. The current validity of RS and the internal consistency were investigated; sex, age, religion and others socio-demographic variables differences were also analysed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the RS was .77; the split-half coefficient was .72. The goodness-of-fit for the 5-factor model presents the best adjusted indices. The total resilience score was correlated positively with social support (r=.42, p<.01). Mean score of the RS was 131.46 (SD=21.01). No significant differences were observed about sex, age and residential municipality. The results showed that the Haitian Creole version of RS is a valid and reliable measure in assessing resilience for the children and adolescent survivors to the 2010's earthquake.

The relationship between resilience and personality traits in doctors: implications for enhancing well being

Objective. The health and well being of medical doctors is vital to their longevity and safe practice. The concept of resilience is recognised as a key component of well being and is an important factor in medical training to help doctors learn to cope with challenge, stress, and adversity. This study examined the relationship of resilience to personality traits and resilience in doctors in order to identify the key traits that promote or impair resilience. Methods. A cross sectional cohort of 479 family practitioners in practice across Australia was studied. The Temperament and Character Inventory measured levels of the seven basic dimensions of personality and the Resilience Scale provided an overall measure of resilience. The associations between resilience and personality were examined by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, controlling for age and gender (α = 0.05 with an accompanying 95% confidence level) and multiple regression analyses. Results. Strong to medium positive correlations were found between Resilience and Self-directedness (r = .614, p < .01), Persistence (r = .498, p < .01), and Cooperativeness (r = .363, p < .01) and negative with Harm Avoidance (r = .-555, p < .01). Individual differences in personality explained 39% of the variance in resilience [F(7, 460) = 38.40, p < .001]. The three traits which contributed significantly to this variance were Self-directedness (β = .33, p < .001), Persistence (β = .22, p < .001) and Harm Avoidance (β = .19, p < .001). Conclusion. Resilience was associated with a personality trait pattern that is mature, responsible, optimistic, persevering, and cooperative. Findings support the inclusion of resilience as a component of optimal functioning and well being in doctors. Strategies for enhancing resilience should consider the key traits that drive or impair it.

Fostering resilience among urban youth exposed to violence: a promising area for interdisciplinary research and practice

Most studies to date have examined negative effects of exposure to community violence, in line with the deficit-based perspective. However, given that most youth exposed to community violence demonstrate positive adaptation or resilience over time, we suggest a shift in perspective, practices, and policies across systems toward identifying and building individual, family, and community assets and strengths that may more effectively support youth who have been exposed to community violence and related risks into competent, caring, and thriving adults. In this article, we review how resilience has been conceptualized and operationalized within the context of community violence, highlight gaps in literature, and offer directions for future public health research and practice. We illustrate this review with practice-based examples from public health work in the San Francisco Bay Area. Future multidisciplinary longitudinal studies that identify protective processes and successful trajectories and rigorous evaluations of strength-based policies, programs, and protective processes are needed.

A Five-Factor Model framework for understanding childhood personality disorder antecedents

The present contribution reviews evidence that supports the relevance of childhood antecedents of personality disorders, and advocates that the validity of a Five-Factor Model framework for describing general trait differences in childhood can be extended towards the field of developmental personality difficulties. In addition, we suggest that several traditional childhood Axis I conditions include a substantial trait component that may be responsible for the recurring finding that childhood Axis I disorders are predictive for adult Axis II disorders. Given the valuable information provided by a trait assessment, we further propose to integrate dimensional personality and personality pathology measures as standard tools in mental health assessments at a young age.

Genetic and environmental causes of variation in trait resilience in young people

The aim of this multi-informant twin study was to determine the relative role of genetic and environmental factors in explaining variation in trait resilience in adolescents. Participants were consenting families (N = 2,638 twins in 1,394 families), from seven national cohorts (age 12–18 years, both sexes) of monozygotic and dizygotic twins reared together. Questionnaire data on the adolescents’ Ego-resilience (ER89) was collected from mothers, fathers and twins, and analysed by means of multivariate genetic modelling. Variance in trait resilience was best represented in an ADE common pathways model with sex limitation. Variance in the latent psychometric resilience factor was largely explained by additive genetic factors (77% in boys, 70% in girls), with the remaining variance (23 and 30%) attributable to non-shared environmental factors. Additive genetic sources explained more than 50% of the informant specific variation in mothers and fathers scores. In twins, additive and non-additive genetic factors together explained 40% and non-shared environmental factor the remaining 60% of variation. In the mothers’ scores, the additive genetic effect was larger for boys than for girls. The non-additive genetic factor found in the twins’ self ratings was larger in boys than in girls. The remaining sex differences in the specific factors were small. Trait resilience is largely genetically determined. Estimates based on several informants rather than single informants approaches are recommended.

Resilience is a good predictor of hopelessness even after accounting for stressful life events, mood and personality (NEO-PI-R)

A better understanding of the relation between protection and vulnerability may advance our understanding of mental health. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine the incremental validity of the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) as a predictor for level of hopelessness. A healthy sample (N = 532) completed the Beck Hopelessness Scale, a list of Stressful Life Events (SLE), the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), NEO-PI-R (NEO Personality Inventory Revised) and the RSA. The relations between the variables were explored with correlations and multiple hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that the RSA measures important protective factors that significantly predict lower levels of hopelessness even when accounting for age, gender, SLE, HSCL-25 and NEO-PI-R. This study supports the notion that the protective resilience factors in the RSA have unique contributions over and above established constructs of stressful life events, depressive and anxiety symptoms and personality in predicting hopelessness, supporting the incremental validity of the RSA.