Page 254 - Biobehavioral Resilence to Stress

Resilience and Personality 231

of cardiovascular reactivity (Tomaka, Blascovich, Kelsey & Leitten, 1993;
Tomaka, Blascovich, Kibler & Ernst, 1997). In a recent experimental study,
Tugade and Fredrickson (2004) observed that positive cognitive appraisal
and positive emotion enabled people who scored high on the personality var-
iable ego resilience to recover more quickly from negative emotional arousal
induced by an experimental stressor. Ego resilience is a unique personality
construct that will be discussed in detail later in this chapter.

Facilitation of Coping

Several studies have provided evidence that flexible appraisal may facilitate

adaptive coping behavior. For example, hardy individuals tend to employ
more problem-focused coping strategies and are less likely to use maladaptive,
emotion-focused coping strategies such as behavioral withdrawal (Blaney &
Ganellen, 1990; Kobasa & Puccetti, 1983; Westman, 1990; Williams, Wiebe
& Smith, 1992). Maddi, Wadhwa, and Haier (1996) compared hardiness and
optimism as mediators of everyday stress among college students and found
that hardiness was associated with more decisive coping strategies (e.g., plan-
ning, positive reinterpretation, and seeking of instrumental help) and less
regressive coping efforts (e.g., behavioral disengagement, denial, and alcohol

or drug use; see also Maddi & Kobasa, 1984).
Particularly relevant to the current chapter are findings from a prospec-

tive study conducted by Florian, Mikulincer, and Taubman (1995). Florian
et al. examined the relationship between hardiness, mental health (psycho-
logical distress and psychological well-being), cognitive appraisal, and cop-
ing style in a sample of 276 young and healthy Israeli men during a 4-month
period of intensive basic combat training that forms part of their compulsory
2-year service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Self-report data on par-
ticipants’ hardiness and mental health (as measured by the Mental Health
Inventory (MHI); Veit & Ware, 1983) were obtained at the beginning and end
of the training period. Results showed that two components of hardiness—
commitment and control—predicted improved mental health (reduced
psychological distress and increased psychological well-being) compared
with baseline measures. Path analysis revealed further that commitment
exerted a positive effect on mental health. Individuals who scored high on

commitment appraised combat training as less threatening, were less reli-
ant on emotion-focused coping strategies (e.g., their coping eff orts focused
on understanding and controlling negative emotions), and were more likely
to view themselves as capable of coping with threat. Control contributed to
mental health by diminishing threat appraisals, by increasing positive sec-
ondary appraisals, and by increasing the use of problem-solving and sup-
port-seeking strategies (Florian et al., 1995).

1/22/2008 6:34:31 PM
CRC_71777_Ch009.indd 231 1/22/2008 6:34:31 PM
CRC_71777_Ch009.indd 231