Page 157 - Biobehavioral Resilence to Stress

134 Biobehavioral Resilience to Stress

best suited physiologically to cope with especially stressful job duties or
dangerous missions.

The ability to experience positive emotion in the face of stress may

also be a significant predictor of coping and resilience to the anticipated
stress of combat (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000; Fredrickson & Levenson,

1998; Fredrickson et al., 2000). The presence of positive emotion may also

reflect challenge orientation as it is more typical of resilient individuals
(Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004). From a research perspective, it is quite easy
to measure emotional state with proper attention to two caveats. First, the
researcher should consider and query daily open reports of general emo-
tional state (i.e., “how do you feel right now?”) as well as probe emotional

state with respect to specific upcoming event of interest (e.g., “what do you
think about your upcoming deployment to Iraq, how do you feel?”). Th ese

two types of reports will have different implications for assessing general
well-being versus the day-to-day experience of positive emotion (Diener,
1994). Second, it is important to consider the frequency of positive and
negative emotional experiences. Recent theory recognizes that one of the
best indicators of psychological well-being, thriving, and resilience is a
high ratio of positive to negative emotions felt within a given period of time
(Fredrickson & Losada, 2005). A well-validated method of assessing posi-
tive and negative emotion frequencies is the day reconstruction method by
which respondents summarize each day by noting all the day’s activities
and associated emotional reactions ( Kahneman, Krueger, Schkade, Schwar,
& Stone, 2004).

Conclusion

It is increasingly clear that in order to fully understand resilience to stress
and trauma, it is important to understand stress anticipation and recov-
ery. In this chapter, we have proposed that resilient individuals anticipate
stress with a greater sense of perceived control, high confidence in their

ability to cope, a positive orientation to challenge, and an ability to experi-
ence at least some positive emotional experience. Th is psychological profi le
is complemented by a physiological profile, which also refl ects an orienta-

tion toward challenge and preparation for action. Importantly, the apparent

cumulative effect of psychological and physiological resilience is a tendency

toward quicker affective and physiological recovery, which in turn buff ers
against physical or mental illness. Additional research to clarify relevant
mechanisms and their relationships and interactions would be particularly
helpful to the development of techniques and strategies for improving per-
formance and survival in high-stress and potentially life-threatening envi-
ronments such as military combat.

12/15/2007 6:10:24 PM
CRC_71777_Ch006.indd 134 12/15/2007 6:10:24 PM
CRC_71777_Ch006.indd 134