Researchers are finding that people who exhibit strong resilience and use adverse experiences to grow also tend to find more satisfaction in life.
Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona analyzed responses from 254 students who completed questionnaires. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the participants’ levels of life satisfaction and find connections between their resilience and their capacity for emotional recovery.
The data showed that the 20 percent of students who were most resilient were also more satisfied with their lives and more likely to believe that they had control over their emotions and mindset. On the basis of the results, the researchers concluded that resilience has a “positive prediction effect on the level of satisfaction with one’s life.”
“Some of the characteristics of being resilient can be worked on and improved, such as self-esteem and being able to regulate one’s emotions. Learning these techniques can offer people the resources needed to help them adapt and improve their quality of life,” says research coordinator Joaquín Limonero.
Source: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Heather Rudow is a staff writer for Counseling Today. Email her at hrudow@counseling.org.