Handbook of Positive Psychology Phần 8 ppt

578 PART VIII. SPECIFIC COPING APPROACHES ics, such as the description of the room in which they were seated. Whereas writing about traumas produced increased health benefits as compared with con- trols, in a variety of more recent studies, researchers have shown that simply writing about one’s thoughts and feelings about coming to college, or about the experience of getting laid off (in the case of the unemployed engineers), produced comparable salubrious health outcomes. Similarly, when students were asked to write about imaginary traumas as though they had lived through them, they evidenced similar health benefits as compared with individuals who wrote about their own trauma (Greenberg, Stone, & Wortman, 1996). The venting of emotions per se appears in- sufficient in the absence of cognitive processing. Although such venting may bring about subjective improvements and self-reports of improved mental health, health gains appear to re- quire the translating of one’s experiences into language. This was demonstrated in a study in which participants were asked either to express a traumatic experience using bodily movement, to express an experience using movement and then write about it, or to exercise in a prescribed manner for 3 days, 10 minutes per day. Only the “movement plus writing” group evinced significant improvements in physical health and grade point average (Krantz & Pennebaker, 1997). It is clear from all the studies that exploring emotions and thoughts—regardless of the content—is critical for the elicitation of health benefits. Based on his meta-analysis, Smyth (1998) concludes that emotional disclosure is a necessary but not sufficient factor to beget the benefits from writing about trauma. Recent research findings support a two-step, multidimen- sional approach to explain the effects of disclosure. First, confiding traumas (a) reduces the physiological arousal associated with inhibition and (b) increases one’s ability to understand and integrate the experience (Salovey, Rothman, & Rodin, 1998). Furthermore, as we will explain subsequently, it appears that one specific style of emotional confrontation is more effective than the others. Cognitive Processes In speaking to participants in the experimental conditions of the original writing studies, it was clear that they were gaining more through the writing than simply disclosing would suggest. In listening to the words that participants used to recount their experiences—such as “realize,” “understand,” “come to terms,” and “getting past”—we gleaned that the writing was foster- ing a better understanding of both themselves and the situations about which they wrote. On an intuitive level, it seemed that an individual’s cognitive reorganization was crucial for the positive outcomes we had been witnessing. In two more systematic examinations, this point was substantiated: first in a topical analysis of the writings and, second, in a computer program that analyzed the linguistic components in more detail. In the first analysis, independent raters assessed the writing samples of participants whose health improved after writing, as compared with those whose health remained unchanged. Writing samples of participants who improved were judged to be more self-reflective, emotionally open, and thought- ful. To investigate further the specific language that led to these assessments, we then developed a computerized text analysis program that could detect emotional and cognitive categories of words. The computer program, Linguistic Anal- ysis and Word Count (LIWC), allowed us to reanalyze previous writing studies and link word usage among individuals in the experimental conditions with various health and be- havioral outcomes. LIWC detects 70 word categories, 4 of which are of primary relevance (Pennebaker & Francis, 1999). The emotion categories include negative-emotion words (sad, angry) and positive-emotion words (happy, laugh), and the cognitive categories include causal (because, reason) and insight words (understand, realize). The two cognitive categories were designed to capture the degree to which participants were actively thinking in their writing, attempting to put together causes and rea- sons for the events and emotions they were de- scribing. LIWC, in turn, produces a probabilistic rating for each linguistic category. Thus, we reanalyzed six studies: two in which college students wrote about traumas where blood immune measures were collected; two in which first-year college students wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings about coming to college; one study of maximum-security prisoners in a state penitentiary; and one using professionals who unexpectedly had been laid off from their jobs after over 20 years of em- ployment (Pennebaker, Mayne, & Francis, CHAPTER 41. SHARING ONE’S STORY 579 1997). In these efforts, we uncovered two important findings. The more that people used positive-emotion words, the more their health improved. Individuals who used a moderate number of negative-emotion words in their writing about upsetting topics evidenced the greatest drops in physician visits in the months after the study. Those people who used a very high rate of negative-emotion words and those who used very few were the most likely to have continuing health problems after participating in the study. From a statistical perspective, the cognitive categories accounted for the most variance in predicting improvements in health. Specifically, people whose health improved the most used an increasing amount of causal and insight words over the 3- to 5-day course of the experiment. It was clear that participants demonstrating this pattern of language were constructing, over time, a story that was replete with causal implications. Stories were built on the foundation of causal links surrounding participants’ experiences and feelings. Constructing this narrative appeared critical in reaching an understanding and achieving better health. Indeed, those participants who began the study with a coherent story that explained some past event did not benefit from writing; merely having a story is not sufficient to assure good health. The process of constructing a story is crucial. Similarly, Clark (1993) asserts in her work on conversation and language that in order to convey a story, the speech act must be coherent. Linguistic coherence subsumes several characteristics, including structure, use of causal explanation, repetition of themes, and an appre- ciation of the listener’s perspective. Construct- ing a coherent story resembles what many psychologists in the coping literature refer to as “working through” a problem. As a result of working through loss, an individual is thought to achieve resolution by accepting the loss intellectually. Indeed, the increased use of causal and insight words detected in our linguistic analyses provides good support for this process. An inherent benefit of forming a narrative involves being able to translate one’s life story into a language that is both understandable and communicable. Once constructed, this story not only helps the beholder to better understand himself and the causes of his trauma but also allows him to communicate it to others. Not being able to tell anyone, or the unwillingness to be open and honest about significant emotional upheaval disconnects a person from his social world. The sharing of one’s story leads us to the third proposed mechanism by which these benefits come about: social communication. Social Processes Traumatic events are socially isolating. Implicit in this statement is that by talking to others (or writing) about traumatic experiences, trauma- tized individuals can establish richer social connections to their social networks. The importance of human communication in mental health is of primary importance. Social support has been associated with mental and physical health, with speedier recovery from illness, and with the likelihood of remaining healthy when stressors occur (cf. Holahan et al., 1996). Indeed, social relationships especially protect individuals from ill health under periods of high stress. It is important to maintain social connections because social groups offer a venue for growth, social experimentation, and change. Sharing our story alerts our friends to our emotional and psychological state. In contrast, keeping a secret engenders a social chasm between the secret- keepers and their friends. Keeping a secret is a cognitively consuming load that prevents the secret-keeper from being a good listener and thereby exacerbates the social disconnection. In a recent study of mutual support, both on- line and face-to-face, we found that social support groups are a significant way by which people change their health behavior (Davison, Pennebaker, & Dickerson, 2000). With the on- set of an illness or a traumatic experience comes anxiety and uncertainty. The resulting intense emotions of an afflicted individual can be reduced through interpersonal exchange. Groups of others with similar concerns or conditions provide a standard of normalcy against which people can compare themselves, as well as to share their thoughts and feelings surrounding their conditions. In our most recent studies, we are investigating whether writing could facilitate social integration, specifically, whether one of the health benefits of writing enables individuals to better connect with their social group. Do people begin to interact differently with others, or perhaps see themselves in a new light, after writing about an emotional topic? In order to explore these ideas, we have attempted to capture how 580 PART VIII. SPECIFIC COPING APPROACHES people naturally talk and interact with others by developing an Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR)—a simple tape recorder with an attached computer chip that records for 30 seconds every 12 minutes. The EAR is lightweight and non- intrusive, worn by participants like a walkman for 2 consecutive days. A small external micro- phone allows us to hear pieces of conversations, as well as determine where participants are and what they are doing (Mehl, Pennebaker, Crow, & Dabbs, 2000). In the first study, participants wore the EAR for 2 consecutive days, 2 weeks prior to participating in a routine writing study and again 2 weeks afterward. Transcriptions of the conversations yielded promising results in terms of participants’ physical behaviors, as well as their language as analyzed by LIWC. As compared with participants in the control condition, who were asked to write about time management, trauma-writers began talking to their friends more, laughing more, and using significantly more positive emotions in their daily language. Trauma-writers also demonstrated significant drops in their resting levels of both diastolic and systolic blood pressure. Similarly, writing about emotion appears to have encouraged participants to use more present-tense words and fewer past-tense words. Interestingly, these effects were far stronger for men, who are naturally less socially integrated than women. Currently we are investigating some of the likely linguistic components of social integration that we refer to as synchrony. Whereas other authors have conceptualized social integration from a self-report perspective, as a sense of belonging, cohesion, confidence, and security with others (Bille-Brahe, 1996), we are defining social integration as a synchrony in behaviors, beliefs, and language within a social group. From a subjective perspective, synchrony among members of a dyad may be perceived as a “click” or feeling “in synch”: having a conversation that is comfortable and fluid. Linguis- tically, we expect that synchrony will be por- trayed by similar patterns in the way people talk across LIWC word categories—for example, coordination in the number and types of words used within a dyad. Psychologists have demonstrated that synchrony (albeit among behaviors) communicates interest and approval (Ken- don, 1970); thus, we are exploring whether a synchronized pattern of language can facilitate social integration. Guiding our research is the idea that a lin- guistically synchronized interaction is an indicator of effective communication between members. Researchers examining interpersonal interactions have found that when people communicate, they will mimic one another’s body language and synchronize the timing of their behaviors (Burgoon, Stern, & Dillman, 1995). In studies of emotional contagion, researchers have indicated that when people are in conversation, they automatically and continuously mimic and synchronize their movements with the facial expressions, voices, postures, movements, and instrumental behaviors of others (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1994). In their pioneering work on synchrony, Condon and Ogston (1966) concluded that synchrony was a fundamental, universal characteristic of human communication. We believe that synchrony in language may facilitate connections and social bonds between conversational members, thereby facilitating social integration. The flip side of the coin, an inability to have synchronized interactions, should dispose one to a life of seclusion: the antithesis of social integration. This idea is related to the inhibition paradigm, as described earlier, in that an inability to communicate with others engenders hidden parts of the self, pos- sibly due to a fear of not being understood or accepted by others. As we see from the study by Davison et al. (2000), connection brings about beneficial health outcomes. An important dimension to coping with stressors is the degree to which people discuss or confront traumas after their occurrence (Pen- nebaker, 1997). We propose that our paradigm facilitates confession by first enabling people to personally understand their trauma and ulti- mately to allow them to discuss it with others, thereby becoming socially integrated. In turn, social integration is an integral component of physical and psychological health. Although psychological health remains an ambiguous, sometimes illusory construct in psychology, our method of constructing and sharing one’s story offers a way to reduce the physiological effects of a massive life stressor, as well as to gain control, find meaning, and facilitate social integration. Individual Differences Do some people benefit more from writing than others? In the first 15 years of the writing paradigm, no researcher was able to demonstrate consistently that one individual difference was CHAPTER 41. SHARING ONE’S STORY 581 linked to health. The problem may have been that health measures, such as physician visits, are notoriously variable. With such unstable dependent measures, it is exceptionally difficult to detect individual differences that are correlated with within-condition effects. In recent years, some promising findings have begun to be reported. In Smyth’s (1998) meta-analysis of 14 writing studies, men tended to benefit more from writing than did women. Christensen and Smith (1993) reported that individuals high in hostility evidenced greater immune response to writing than those persons who were low in hostility. Most recently, Paez, Velasco, and Gonzalez (1999) found that people who were high in the trait of alexithymia (a condition characterized by the inability to detect, interpret, or label emotions) benefited more from writing than did those low in the trait. The common thread of all these studies is that people who are not naturally emotionally open or likely to talk with others about feelings may be the very people who benefit most from writing about their internal states. Recently individual differences in story making and narrative construction have been ex- plored. Smyth, True, and Souto (2001) evalu- ated the role of narrative structuring by experimental manipulation and found that the self-reported health of people who wrote about a traumatic experience in a narrative fashion was better than for those who wrote about this topic in a disjointed, listlike way. Unfortu- nately, this may reflect the general task of writing more than a specific ability to write good stories. In a recent study, Graybeal, Seagal, and Pennebaker (in press) tried to evaluate if a person who was a good “story maker” in writing about traumas also was a good story maker in response to Thematic Apperception Test card or an inkblot test. There was virtually no relationship. Although the ability to construct a good narrative about one’s own trauma apparently is beneficial, there does seem to be a group of very healthy story makers in the world who are ac- counting for all of our variance. Conclusions Emotional upheavals can have a variety of ad- verse effects on people’s mental and physical health. They make us think differently about life, our friends, and ourselves. They also have the potential to profoundly disrupt our ongoing relationships with others. As many researchers have begun to discover, disclosure—through writing or talking—has a remarkable potential in alleviating these effects. Putting upsetting experiences into words allows people to stop in- hibiting their thoughts and feelings, to begin to organize their thoughts and perhaps find meaning in their traumas, and to reintegrate into their social networks. Writing is not a panacea. Not everyone benefits from writing. We suspect that it has the potential to disrupt people’s lives. As an example, a recent writing participant told us that, after writing, she reevaluated her life and her marriage. She then divorced her husband of 8 years and was forced to move with her children to a much smaller apartment. Although she reports being happier and healthier because of the writing, some might argue that writing had some very negative side effects. It is somewhat ironic that the writing paradigm is discussed as a feature of positive psychology. Although we have demonstrated that writing about traumatic experiences can have significant health benefits, in a sense, our paradigm encourages participants to dwell on the misery in their lives. We are essentially bring- ing inhibited or secret negative emotions to the forefront. This can be an anxiety-provoking experience; recall that many participants in the experimental condition cry and report feeling greater sadness, depression, frustration, and guilt in the short run (Pennebaker, 1989). In fact, emotional state after writing depends on how participants are feeling prior to writing such that the better they feel before, the worse they feel afterward. Is this distress necessary for the positive outcomes we witness in participants’ health? If the achievement of insight is truly responsible for the benefits we have demonstrated, is emotional expression—when it appears to be the exact op- posite of uplifting—a necessary component? In- tuitively, participants’ reports of distress seem antithetical to their reports of the value and meaningfulness they ascribe to participating in our experiments. Instead, it appears that they acknowledge the importance of distress as a prelude to overcoming trauma. We have presented the writing paradigm as a process toward achieving mental health. We emphasize the importance of process in order to prevent the notion that one can automatically achieve health benefits. Clearly, one might have to endure some negativity to be healthy. Soci- ety has an obsessive focus on strategies aimed toward reducing the awareness of unpleasant 582 PART VIII. SPECIFIC COPING APPROACHES emotions. Focus on negative emotions, however, may be necessary in order to genuinely overcome trauma and grow as a mentally healthy human being. One cannot ascribe too much importance to positivity by neglecting what appears to be a necessary psychological cost. At the risk of sounding trite, we note that our research findings highlight the importance of being true to oneself—confronting negative thoughts and ac- knowledging negative emotions. The path to a satisfying and fulfilling life does not bypass difficulties and negative thoughts and feelings. In- deed, one of the goals in positive psychology is to increase our understanding and abilities to transverse those impediments more effectively. Thus, by openly facing our traumas, we no longer end up in such psychological ditches. Rather, we can begin to build bridges to the considerable strengths that we all possess. As such, the psychological road that heretofore has been less traveled may become a main thor- oughfare of positive psychology. Acknowledgment Preparation of this manuscript was aided by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH52391). References Bille-Brahe, U. (1996). Measuring social integration and social support. Nordic Journal of Psy- chiatry, 50, 41–46. Burgoon, J., Stern, L., & Dillman, L. (1995). Inter- personal adaptation: Dyadic interaction patterns. New York: Cambridge University Press. Christensen, A. J., & Smith, T. W. (1993). Cynical hostility and cardiovascular reactivity during self-disclosure. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 193–202. *Clark, L. F. (1993). Stress and the cognitive- conversational benefits of social interaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 12, 25–55. Condon, W. S., & Ogston, W. D. (1966). 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Zeigarnik, B. (1938). On finished and unfinished tasks. In W. D. Ellis (Ed.), A source book of Ge- stalt psychology (pp. 300–314). London: Rout- ledge and Kegan Paul. (Original work published 1927) 584 42 Benefit-Finding and Benefit-Reminding Howard Tennen & Glenn Affleck Individuals facing adversity frequently report benefits in their negative experiences (Affleck & Tennen, 1996). Benefit-finding has been linked to psychological and physical health, and it plays a prominent role in theories of cognitive adaptation to threatening circumstances (Janoff- Bulman, 1992; Taylor, 1983), posttraumatic growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995), and psychological thriving (Epel, McEwen, & Ickovics, 1998). Snyder and McCullough (2000) refer to benefit-finding as a human strength, and they urge its inclusion in the emerging positive psychology paradigm. Yet the empirical literature in this area is a long way from fulfilling its promise. Problems include the tenuous concep- tual status of benefit-finding, along with an ex- cessive reliance on cross-sectional designs and measures of negative psychological states. Be- cause of these difficulties, we believe that the potential of benefit-finding for the positive psychology movement has been compromised. In this chapter we summarize the prevalence of benefit-finding and describe what is known about the related emotional and health advan- tages. We then briefly examine key assumptions about benefit-finding and offer several yet-to- be-tested alternatives to the dominant concep- tualization of benefit-finding as a form of cognitive adaptation. Finally, we propose directions for future research and consider the implications of this area of inquiry for positive psychology. Readers interested in how benefit- finding is related to positive personality characteristics such as optimism, extraversion, and hope will find detailed treatments elsewhere (Affleck & Tennen, 1996; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995; Tennen & Affleck, 1999). Cross-Sectional Studies of Benefit-Finding Researchers on the topic of benefit-finding, similar to other investigators in the broader personality and social psychology fields, rely excessively on cross-sectional correlational designs. We examined 20 studies in which the concurrent association between benefit-finding and well-being was a focus. The majority of participants in these studies endorsed at least some benefit in diverse threatening circumstances, including invasive medical treatment, life-threatening illness, chronic disability, HIV infection, rape, sexual abuse, accident, and nat- ural disaster. Fourteen of the 20 studies estab- lished that benefit-finding was associated with better adjustment, 1 study found that benefit- finding was associated with poorer adjustment, CHAPTER 42. BENEFIT-FINDING AND BENEFIT-REMINDING 585 and 5 studies reported no reliable association. We found no clear differences in the popula- tions studied, the sample size, or the measure- ment of benefits or adjustment that adequately explain the observed variation across studies. A major limitation of this body of work for investigators interested in positive psychology, however, is its primary focus on indicators of maladjustment and distress. But the focus on maladaptation also is conceptually limiting because benefit-finding is now considered a primary appraisal tied to positively toned emotions (Lazarus, 1999). And, of course, one cannot dis- entangle temporal precedence in these cross- sectional studies. It may be that those who are better adjusted find it easier to construe positive aspects of a negative experience. Thus, we turn our attention to longitudinal investigations. Longitudinal Studies of Benefit-Finding We located six longitudinal studies and two “microlongitudinal” (i.e., daily process) studies of the predictive significance of benefit-finding. Excluded are the few longitudinal studies with foci on the psychological benefits of more global constructs such as “positive reappraisal” (Leana, Feldman, & Tan, 1998); “finding meaning” (McIntosh, Silver, & Wortman, 1993) and “positive meaning” (Folkman, Chesney, Collette, Boccellari, & Cooke, 1996; Park & Folkman, 1997); and several intervention studies, which we will describe at the conclusion of this chapter. Because these eight studies provide our only window to the temporal dynamics of benefit- finding and adaptation, and provide a unique opportunity to examine whether benefit-finding anticipates psychological and health outcomes or is simply a correlate of emotional and physical well-being, we describe them in some detail. Victims of Fire In the first published longitudinal study of finding benefits in adversity, Thompson (1985) sur- veyed individuals whose apartments had been partially or completely destroyed by fire. Al- though the sample was small, and Thompson combined benefit-finding with cognitive adap- tations such as imagining worse situations and making social comparisons, this study provided the first evidence that benefit-finding might predict later negative mood, pleasure in daily activities, and physical symptoms. Two thirds of the sample reported finding some benefit in the experience, most commonly citing others’ help- fulness and important life lessons. Although Thompson did not examine whether benefit- finding per se predicted changes in well-being, she found that the composite indicator of cognitive adaptation 1 to 2 weeks after the fire predicted well-being a year later. The long-term correlates unique to benefit-finding remained to be discovered. In several subsequent studies, the specific foci were the adaptational benefits of benefit-finding. Bereaved Individuals The loss of a loved one places an individual at increased risk for psychological and physical morbidity. Yet the variability in emotional and health outcomes makes bereavement a fertile arena in which to study how benefit-finding in- fluences subsequent psychological adjustment. Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, and Larson (1998) took advantage of this variability in a prospec- tive study of individuals whose parent, spouse, partner, child, or sibling was in hospice care. As part of a structured interview 6 months following the loss, participants were asked if they had found anything positive in the experience of having lost a loved one. Seventy-three percent reported that they had found something positive in the experience, and their specific re- sponses were consistent with those reported in previous cross-sectional studies of benefit- finding, including personal growth, new life perspective, strengthening family bonds, and support from others. Davis et al. (1998) examined whether finding a benefit 6 months following the loss predicted distress 7 months later. Although this analysis did not control for distress at 6 months following the loss, it did control for distress prior to the loss, as well as the extent to which participants had made sense of the loss (i.e., found meaning) at the 6-month interview. Remarka- bly, Davis et al. found that benefit-finding uniquely predicted 13-month distress, even after controlling for the extent to which the loss “made sense.” These investigators also found that it was not the number of benefits that held predictive value but rather whether any benefit was endorsed. Thus, whatever psychological function was served by finding benefits, it seemed to be served adequately once any benefit was found. This observation has implications for how we measure benefit-finding, whether 586 PART VIII. SPECIFIC COPING APPROACHES multi-item scales are required, and whether we should expect indicators of benefit-finding to meet traditional psychometric criteria for internal consistency. We will return to these issues at the conclusion of this chapter. Mothers of Acutely Ill Newborns In their study of mothers whose infants were in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Af- fleck, Tennen, and Rowe (1991) asked their participants whether they had found any benefits from their child’s hazardous delivery and hospitalization. Seventy-five percent of these mothers cited at least one benefit, including improved relationships with family and friends, the importance of keeping life’s problems in perspective, increased empathy, positive changes in their personality, and the certainty that their child was now even more precious to them. Mothers who cited benefits during their infant’s hospitalization reported brighter mood and less distress 6 and 18 months later, even when their mood during the initial interview was statistically controlled. This ability of benefit-finding to predict later emotional well- being also was independent of an objective severity index of the child’s medical problems. Thus, benefit-finding appears to anticipate emotional well-being and is not confounded by objective measures of the severity of the problem. A unique result of this study was that benefit-finding predicted not only mothers’ own well-being but also their child’s developmental test scores 18 months later. The relationship remained significant even after controlling for mothers’ predischarge mood, age, education, and parity and the severity of infants’ perinatal medical problems. This discovery is critical because it extends the positive outcomes of benefit-finding beyond the realm of self-report and psychological well-being. Although it is tempting to speculate about the mechanisms through which perceived benefits during their infants’ hospitalization were associated with later developmental outcomes, no clues as to the mediating processes are provided in the study. Men Who Experienced a First Heart Attack Another demonstration that objective health outcomes can be predicted from earlier benefit- finding comes from a long-term study of men who survived a first heart attack (Affleck, Ten- nen, Croog, & Levine, 1987). Seven weeks after their initial heart attack, 58% of these men cited benefits, including anticipated changes in lifestyle, increased enjoyment, valued lessons about the importance of health behavior, and positive changes in their values and life philos- ophies. Eight years later (and controlling for age, socioeconomic status, and the severity of the initial attack), those men who had reported benefits were in better cardiac health and were less likely to have suffered another attack. As in the aforementioned study of mothers of NICU infants, few clues in this investigation were provided regarding the processes through which benefit-finding buffered these men from the recurrence of a heart attack. It is tempting to argue that benefit-finding predicted morbidity because those who referred to anticipated lifestyle and health behavior changes actually made such changes, which in turn produced su- perior cardiac health (Affleck & Tennen, 1996; Tennen & Affleck, 1999). But as anyone who has worked in a cardiac rehabilitation service, or has tried to stop smoking or maintain a weight loss diet, will attest, the road from appreciating the benefits of health behavior to cardiac health 8 years later is fraught with motivational and interpersonal impediments. Moreover, Davis et al.’s (1998) discovery that one particular benefit is less consequential than finding any benefit (cf. Affleck et al., 1991) calls into question the notion that health behavior changes mediated the effect of benefit-finding on reinfarction or cardiac health. Although some evidence of physiological mediation is beginning to emerge (see Bower, Kemeny, Taylor, & Fahey, 1998), we remain a long way from understanding the mechanisms through which benefit-finding pre- dicts health outcomes. Disaster Victims The three longitudinal studies described thus far involved men and women who had experienced the loss of a loved one, mothers who were dealing with their newborn infants’ threatening medical situation, and men who were recovering from their first heart attacks. Although each of these contexts is unique, what they share is that either the respondents themselves (Affleck et al., 1987) or a close relative (Affleck et al., 1991; Davis et al., 1998) was facing a serious medical condition. McMillen, Smith, and Fisher (1997) extended this line of inquiry in their longitudinal study of people who had experienced one of three disasters involving extensive property [...]... the loss of a child Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 81 2 82 1 McMillen, J C., Smith, E M., & Fisher, R H (1997) Perceived benefit and mental health after three types of disaster Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 733–739 Park, C L (19 98) Implications of posttraumatic growth for individuals In R G Tedeschi, C L Park, & L G Calhoun (Eds.), Posttraumatic growth: Positive. .. Janoff-Bulman, 1992; Taylor, 1 983 ; Thompson & Janigian, 1 988 ) Taylor (1 983 , 1 989 ; Taylor & Armor, 1996) has argued that threats to one’s sense of self often are diminished by perceiving the event as a “wake-up call” suggesting that one’s priorities and goals are not as they should be The reordering of priorities and the revision of life goals are part of a reappraisal of the event as an opportunity for growth rather... Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 92–104 *Park, C L., Cohen, L H., & Murch, R L (1996) Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth Journal of Personality, 64, 71–105 Rubin, S S (1993) The death of a child is forever: The life course impact of child loss In M S Stroebe, W Stroebe, & R O Hansson (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: A sourcebook of research and intervention (pp 285 –299)... Oxford University Press *Taylor, S E (1 983 ) Adjusting to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173 Taylor, S E (1 989 ) Positive illusions: Creative self-deception and the healthy mind New York: Basic Books Taylor, S E., & Armor, D A (1996) Positive illusions and coping with adversity Journal of Personality, 64, 87 3 89 8 Taylor, S E., Kemeny, M E., Reed, G... changes in the aftermath of crisis (pp 153–177) Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Park, C L., Cohen, L H., & Murch, R L (1996) Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth Journal of Personality, 64, 71–105 Park, C L., & Folkman, S (1997) Meaning in the context of stress and coping Review of General Psychology, 2, 115–144 *Ross, M (1 989 ) Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories... previously) But from our reading of the literature and the observations culled from the wisdom of our bereaved research participants, we suggest that two processes of meaning-making might facilitate the process of growth following personal loss: making sense of loss and perceiving benefits or positives in the experience of coping with that loss (Davis et al., 19 98) Making Sense of Loss Versus Finding Benefit... literature on positive psychology The sense of wisdom, enhanced capacity for forgiveness and empathy, increased spirituality, and more positive relations with others often reported by individuals who have experienced adversity correspond to the characteristics that have fueled the recent surge of interest in positive psychology But it would be unfortunate if investigators interested in positive psychological... some types of loss than others, we found that the characteristics of the loss did not predict who was able to find something positive (Davis et al., 19 98) For example, the age of the deceased at the time of death did not predict whether respondents were able to find something positive, suggesting that it is not more difficult to find something positive in less normative losses, such as the loss of a young... with characteristics of the individual than with characteristics of the event In contrast to the benefit-finding results, the ability to make sense of the loss was associated with characteristics of the loss, particularly with the age of the deceased (Davis et al., 19 98) Only 60% of respondents whose loved one was relatively young (under 57 years of age) were able to make sense of their loss by 6 months... published 1959) Frankl, V E (1 986 ) The doctor and the soul: From psychotherapy to logotherapy (3rd ed.) New York: Vintage (Original work published 1955) Heider, F (19 58) The psychology of interpersonal relations New York: Wiley *Janoff-Bulman, R (1992) Shattered assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma New York: Free Press *Janoff-Bulman, R., & Frantz, C M (1997) The impact of trauma on meaning: From . predictors of adaptive bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 86 3 87 1. Petrie, K. P., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (19 98) . The immunological effects of thought suppression relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 287 – 300. Wortman, C. B., & Silver, R. C. (1 989 ). The myths of coping with loss. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57,. of investigation. But if positive psychology is to make genuine contri- butions to this field of inquiry, theorists and researchers must be ready to do much more than offer new indicators of positive

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