Research Watch: can adversity make you stronger?
| Published date | 15 May 2019 |
| Pages | 64-70 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/MHSI-02-2019-0005 |
| Date | 15 May 2019 |
| Author | Sue Holttum |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Mental health,Social inclusion |
Research Watch: can adversity
make you stronger?
Sue Holttum
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine what helps people come through difficult events
and circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach –A search was carried out for recent papers on adversity and thriving.
Findings –One paper reviewed 27 studies of coping and wellbeing after adversities. Maybe some kinds of
adversity can help us get stronger, but people’s social contexts were not considered and the studies
measured different things that may not be as easily compared as first appears. A second paper examined
wellbeing at work, and reported that a certain type of supervisor is important for preventing burnout. The final
paper reported on 55 people who survived depression. Many (though not all) participants felt their life was
better than before. Surviving was assisted by practical and social support rather than pills.
Originality/value –The review of research on adversity highlights that patterns of data may look similar but
may not tell us as much as we hoped . The study of workplace thriving highlight ed how supervisors might
support people to do their best work while preventi ng burnout. The study on su rviving depression
suggested that social resources were key to a good outcome and a better life. Social inclusion is likely to
be important.
Keywords Transformational leadership, Coping, Depression, Wellbeing, Thriving, Adversity
Paper type Viewpoint
In this Research Watch paper, I discuss three papers that have examined what helps us to come
out stronger when things get very stressful. Holtge et al. (2018) summarised the results of
27 studies on people’s coping and wellbeing after stressful life events and situations (adversities).
They found some surprising results, but there are missing pieces to the puzzle. Hildenbrand et al.
(2018) were interested in the role of supervisors in relation to who thrives under pressure at work.
Hanninen and Valkonen (2019) reported on people’s experience of depression and what they
thought helped them to come through it.
Can difficult events present just the right amount of challenge for coping?
Holtge et al. (2018) start by highlighting lots of research showing that both mental and physical
health problems of ten follow on from adve rsities. When ther e is a series of stressful events or
they keep going on, this makes further setbacks harder to cope with. Traumatic events and
long-lasting adv ersity in childhood is often followe d by getting a mental health diagnosis a s an
adult. Furthermor e, it can take less of a hit to push s omeone into mental health di fficulties if they
have had a difficult childhood. On the basis of all the research evidence, Holtge et al. (2018)
suggest, one would expect that complete absence of adversity would mean the best
wellbeing, but it of ten does not.
Holtge et al. (2018, p. 53) describe the “salutogenic model of health”, citing Antonovsky (1996).
This model proposes that people can thrive in the face of stressful events and situations by
learning to cope. Thriving, say Holtge et al. (2018), is more than just bouncing back. It is coming
out stronger than before. Holtge et al. (2018) suggest that there is a certain level of adversity that
is just right for a “steeling effect”(Holtge et al., 2018, p. 54), which is when someone is able not
only to cope but to learn from it so they cope better next time.
Sue Holttum is based at the
Salomons Centre for Applied
Psychology, Canterbury Christ
Church University,
Canterbury, UK.
PAG E 64
j
MENTALHEALTH AND SOCIAL INCLUSION
j
VOL. 23 NO. 2 2019, pp. 64-70, © Emerald Publishing Limited,ISSN 2042-8308 DOI 10.1108/MHSI-02-2019-0005
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