A rank ordering and analysis of nine resilience competencies demonstrates the special importance of thought management in maintaining resilience

Abstract

Resilience has long been known to involve both innate personality characteristics and learned competencies. In the present study, we measured nine trainable competencies that empirical studies suggest are associated with resilience, and then we rank-ordered those competencies according to how well they predicted several desirable, self-reported life outcomes. We did so by analyzing data obtained from a diverse convenience sample of 5279 English-language speakers (mean age 30.5) from 104 countries (47.7% from the U.S.) who took a new online test of resilience. Participants were first asked various demographic and criterion questions and then took the 81-item, Likert-scale test. The competencies were: Copes Effectively with Past Traumas, Develops Mental and Physical Toughness, Maintains Advantageous Relationships, Manages Emotions Constructively, Manages Stress Effectively, Manages Thoughts Constructively, Practices Assertiveness, Seeks to Grow and Improve, and Solves Problems Effectively. The test had high internal-consistency reliability, and total scores were good predictors of whether someone had ever been in therapy, had ever been hospitalized for a mental health problem, was currently in therapy, had ever been diagnosed with a mental illness, as well as of happiness, personal success, professional success, and self-reported level of resilience. Test scores for people who reported having had resilience training were significantly higher than test scores for people who had no such training. Regression analyses showed that the resilience competency that best predicted desirable outcomes was Manages Thoughts Constructively. Unfortunately, participants scored relatively poorly on this competency (59.5%), while scoring highest on Maintains Advantageous Relationships (72.9%). A small effect was found for gender, with males outscoring females by 0.5%. Effects were also found for race/ethnicity, country, sexual orientation, educational level, parental status, employment status, marital status, and age. The study supports the value of a competencies approach to understanding resilience and calls special attention to the important role that thought management techniques may play in resilience.