Deck 4: Resilience

Question 1

Human resilience refers to

A) good outcomes despite serious threat or challenge.
B) the extraordinary effort needed to recover from serious life traumas.
C) some people's unusual ability to triumph over adversities that overwhelm most people.
D) the two steps forward and one step back nature of recovering from serious life challenges.

Answer 1

good outcomes despite serious threat or challenge.

Question 2

According to Ann Masten, descriptions of resilient responses and resilient individuals are judgment calls involving judgments regarding the meaning and measure of

A) normal and abnormal responses.
B) significant threat and a favorable or good outcome.
C) the potential for loss versus the actual loss.
D) life circumstances and personal strengths.

Answer 2

significant threat and a favorable or good outcome.

Question 3

What does Ann Masten mean when she describes human resilience as "ordinary magic"?

A) it takes good old-fashioned magic to recover from serious trauma.
B) social support from others is the magic ingredient for human resilience.
C) resilient responses are quite common and stem from normal and everyday capacities and conditions.
D) resilience is a biological capacity that is not dependent on psychological or social factors.

Answer 3

resilient responses are quite common and stem from normal and everyday capacities and conditions.

Question 4

Recent research reviewed by George Bonano suggests that resilience is a distinct pattern of response to trauma that is quite different than the longstanding clinical psychology concept of

A) traumatic shock.
B) avoidance.
C) reaction formation.
D) recovery.

Question 5

Clinical psychologist George Bonanno has examined the implications of resilience research for mental health professionals who work with victims of trauma, loss, and posttraumatic stress disorder. He argues that clinicians may have underestimated the prevalence of resilient responses to trauma because clinicians

A) believe most everyone would benefit from therapy.
B) only see those people who suffer significant negative reactions to trauma or loss.
C) confuse resilience with the relatively immediate effects of drugs.
D) want to be helpful even when it isn't necessary.

Question 6

According to clinical psychologist George Bonanno, resilient responses to loss of a loved one may be viewed by mental health professionals as

A) symptoms of pathology such as denial, insensitivity, and callousness.
B) symptoms of unusual personal strength and fortitude.
C) a reliable sign that that therapy is not necessary..
D) as a sign of personal weakness and overdependence on the person who has died.

Question 7

Studies of the aging process show that most people over the age of 65

A) show diminished self-esteem and life satisfaction, and are dealing with at least one physical ailment.
B) are somewhat lonely and show several symptoms of mild depression.
C) are sandwiched in between the needs of their children and aging parents.
D) rate their self-esteem and life satisfaction as high as any other period of adulthood.

Question 8

Based on studies of children and youth, Masten has described three general categories of protective factors that contribute to resilient responses: those within the child, within the family, and within the community. Which of the following have been identified as "within the child protective factors"?

A) positive self-image, optimism, easy-going temperament, and good intellectual and problem solving skills.
B) high self-esteem, will-power, determination, and a never-give-up attitude.
C) persistence, willingness to take on challenges, and a strong social support system of family and peers.
D) social influence skills, personal attractiveness, safe environment, family financial resources.

Question 9

Buckner and his colleagues studied resilience among disadvantaged youth (ages 8 to 17) living in poverty. Their sample included Caucasians, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latinos. Nearly a third (29%) of their sample was classified as resilient. What did these researchers find was the most powerful predictor of resilience among disadvantaged youth?

A) intelligence and problem-solving skills
B) self-esteem and optimism
C) cognitive and emotional self-regulation abilities
D) social support and an intact family

Question 10

Buckner and his colleagues studied resilience among disadvantaged youth (ages 8 to 17) living in poverty. Their sample included Caucasians, African Americans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latinos. Nearly a third (29%) of their sample was classified as resilient. Which the following parental factors differentiated resilient from non-resilient youths?

A) family income
B) parental monitoring of youth activities and whereabouts
C) parents level of participation in community organized youth programs
D) whether a youth's family was "intact" or divorced

Question 11

According to Carstensen's socioemotional selectivity theory, the kinds of goals and life activities that people choose to pursue and regard as important are related to

A) their socioemotional value.
B) age; specifically people's perception of the time they have left to live.
C) success; specifically whether they have achieved their goals or not.
D) time; specifically how long they have engaged in a particular activity or pursued a particular goal.

Question 12

Consistent with Carstenson's socioemotional selectivity theory, research shows that older married couples and the elderly

A) have more marital conflict and suffer more social isolation.
B) disengage from social relationships following the loss of work-related friends after they retire.
C) have more satisfying marriages and invest more in a smaller circle of established relationships rather than in meeting new people.
D) seek to experiences, new relationships, and activities to keep busy.

Question 13

According to the research of Janoff-Bulman, what three assumptions or beliefs are shattered by trauma and loss (i.e., negative effects of trauma)?

A) personal invulnerability, meaningfulness, and positive view of self.
B) self-esteem, belief in God, and "life is good."
C) infallibility, sense of control, and desire to go on with life.
D) personal fate control, optimism, and faith.

Question 14

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) refers to the

A) slow but steady changes following posttraumatic stress disorder.
B) ability of people, with therapeutic assistance, to ultimately resolve the shattered assumptions and devastating effects of significant trauma.
C) the positive life lessons and changes that may result from a traumatic event.
D) ability of people to "rationalize away" and put a positive spin on almost any tragedy.

Question 15

Which of the following are examples of the changes resulting from posttraumatic growth (PTG)?

A) rationalization, denial, false optimism, and unfounded hope.
B) feelings of personal strength, increased spirituality, less materialism, increased closeness to others.
C) challenge, crisis, struggle, resolution, peace.
D) go for your dreams, change your life now, carpe diem! (seize the day).

Question 16

Posttraumatic growth seems to depend heavily on

A) meaning-making - whether or not people can make sense of and find benefits in the trauma.
B) people's ability to generate comforting illusions and rationalizations for trauma.
C) the amount and strength of social support.
D) optimistic attitudes towards life and personal strength as measured by self-esteem and belief in a higher power.

Question 17

Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, and colleagues interviewed people who had lost a loved one to a terminal illness (e.g., cancer, AIDS). What percentage of people were able to understand and find a positive aspect to their loss?

A) a small minority (less that 20%)
B) about a third (33%)
C) about have did and half didn't (50/50)
D) a strong majority (more than 70%)

Question 18

Davis, Nolen-Hoeksema, and colleagues interviewed people who had lost a loved one to a terminal illness (e.g. cancer, AIDS). In the year following their loss, what two processes were related to less post-loss distress?

A) rationalization and reconciliation.
B) emotional disclosure and support from others.
C) sense-making and benefit finding.
D) faith and hope.