Do Adverse Events Give You Greater Resilience?

A history of a moderate number of adverse life events, such as parental divorce, death of a loved one, or even physical assault, seems to make people more resilient in the face of stressors, says a team led by Mark D. Seery of the University at Buffalo. In a study of undergraduates, for example, the pain and unpleasantness of putting the hands into ice water were highest for people who had experienced no adverse events, and least for those who had experienced about 5 such events, with higher numbers of negative experiences being associated with greater levels of pain and discomfort. Overall, the research subjects reported having had up to 19 adverse events; 7.5% reported experiencing no adversity.