Definition-driven study characteristics
| Study | Adversity | Adaptation | Subsample | Prevalence of resilience (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boe et al15 | Disaster | No PTSD | 58.3 | |
| Bonanno et al16* | Spousal bereavement | No or low† depression | 45.9 | |
| Bonanno et al17* | Spousal bereavement | No or low† depression | 45.9 | |
| Ho et al18 | Hereditary cancer risk | Below HADS threshold of 7/8 | HADS—anxiety | 66.7 |
| HADS—depression | 76.8 | |||
| Jaffee19 | Childhood maltreatment | Meet or exceed national norms for mental health, academic achievement and social competence | 37–49 | |
| Mlinac et al20 | External stressors or life events common to late life | Coaches felt that participants met their goals despite more significant stressors | 28.6 | |
| Netuveli et al21 | Functional limitation, bereavement, marital separation, poverty | Return to preadversity GHQ scores postadversity | 14.3 | |
| Solomon et al22 | War veterans | No PTSD | Control veterans | 88.8 |
| ex-POWs | 26.6 | |||
| Werner4 | Offspring of alcoholics | No coping problems at age 18 | 59.2 |
*Same data set used.
†<80th centile z-scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies—depression scale.50
A prototypical resilience trajectory, that is, decreasing functioning followed by a return to pre-event functioning, was also identified.38
GHQ, General Health Questionnaire; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale;51 POWs, prisoners of war; PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder.