Hardiness (psychology)

In early research on hardiness, it was usually defined as a personality structure that functions as a resistance resource in encounters with stressful conditions. The personality structure is composed of the three related general dispositions:

;commitment: a tendency to involve oneself in activities in life and to have a genuine interest in and curiosity about the surrounding world (activities, things, other people)

;control: a tendency to believe and act as if one can influence the events taking place around oneself through one's own efforts

;challenge: the belief that change, rather than stability, is the normal mode of life and constitutes motivating opportunities for personal growth rather than threats to security{{cite journal|last=Kobasa|first=S.C.|year=1979|title=Stressful life events, personality, and health – Inquiry into hardiness|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 37|pages=1–11|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.37.1.1|pmid=458548|issue=1}}

Maddi characterized hardiness as a combination of three attitudes (commitment, control, and challenge) that provide the courage and motivation needed to turn stressful circumstances from potential calamities into opportunities for personal growth.{{cite journal |last=Maddi |first=S.R. |year=2004 |title=Hardiness: An operationalization of existential courage |journal=Journal of Humanistic Psychology |volume=44 |pages=279–298 |doi=10.1177/0022167804266101 |issue=3 |s2cid=144560796}}{{cite journal |last=Maddi |first=S.R. |year=2006 |title=Hardiness: The courage to grow from stresses |journal=Journal of Positive Psychology |volume=1 |pages=160–168 |doi=10.1080/17439760600619609 |issue=3 |s2cid=32269322}} P.T. Bartone considers hardiness as something more global than mere attitudes. He conceives of hardiness as a broad personality style or generalized mode of functioning that includes cognitive, emotional, and behavioural qualities. This style of functioning affects how one views oneself and interacts with the world around.{{cite journal |last=Bartone |first=P.T. |year=2006 |title=Resilience under military operational stress: Can leaders influence hardiness? |journal=Military Psychology |volume=18 |pages=S131–S148 |doi=10.1207/s15327876mp1803s_10 |citeseerx=10.1.1.529.7394 |s2cid=9515376}}

Early conceptualizations of hardiness are evident in Maddi's work, most notably in his descriptions of the ideal identity and premorbid personality.{{cite journal|last=Maddi |first=S.R.|year=1967|title=The existential neurosis|journal=Journal of Abnormal Psychology|volume= 72|pages=311–325|doi=10.1037/h0020103|pmid=6058470|issue=4}} In 1967, Maddi argued that chronic states of meaninglessness and alienation from existence were becoming typical features of modern life. Like other existential psychologists before him, Maddi believed that feelings of apathy and boredom, and inability to believe in the interest-value of the things one is engaged in—feelings that characterised modern living—were caused by upheavals in culture and society, increased industrialization and technological power, and more rigidly differentiated social structures in which people's identities were defined in terms of their social roles.

Maddi went on to outline two distinct personality types, based on how people identify or see themselves. The premorbid personality sees him- or herself in fairly simple terms, as nothing more than “a player of social roles and an embodiment of biological needs.”{{r|Maddi67|page=315}} This type of identity thus stresses qualities that are the least unique for him or her when compared to other species (biological needs) or other people (social roles). According to Maddi, people with a premorbid identity can continue with their life for a long time and ostensibly feel adequate and reasonably successful. However, this personality type is also prone to being precipitated into a state of chronic existential neurosis under conditions of stress. This existential neurosis is characterized by the belief that one's life is meaningless, by feelings of apathy and boredom, and by a sense that one's activities are not chosen.

In stark contrast to the premorbid personality, one finds the ideal identity. Though still a player of social roles and an expression of the biological sides of man, this personality type also has a deeper and richer understanding of his or her unique psychological side – mental processes like symbolization, imagination, and judgement. Whereas the premorbid personality accepts social roles as given, feels powerless to influence actions, and merely tries to play the roles as well as possible; the ideal identity, through expression of his or her psychological side, does not feel powerless in the face of social pressure. This person can perceive alternatives to mere role-playing, can switch roles more easily, and even redefine existing roles. As a consequence of this deeper psychological understanding of the self, the ideal identity is actively engaged in and interested in life, is willing to act to influence events, and is interested in new experiences and in learning new things.

Hardiness is often considered an important factor in psychological resilience or an individual-level pathway leading to resilient outcomes.{{multiref2

|1={{cite book|last1=Bartone|first1=P.T.|last2=Hystad|first2=S.W.|year=2010|chapter=Increasing mental hardiness for stress resilience in operational settings|editor-first1=P.T.|editor-last1=Bartone|editor-first2=B.H.|editor-last2=Johnsen|editor-first3=J.|editor-last3=Eid|editor-first4=J.M.|editor-last4=Violanti|editor-first5=J.C.|editor-last5=Laberg|title=Enhancing human performance in security operations: International and law enforcement perspective|pages=257–272|location=Springfield, Ill.|publisher=Charles C. Thomas}}

|2={{cite journal|last=Bonanno|first=G.A.|year=2004|title=Loss, trauma, and human resilience. Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? |journal=American Psychologist|volume= 59|pages=20–28|doi=10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.20 |pmid=14736317 |issue=1 |s2cid=6296189 |url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/60213}}

}} A body of research suggests that hardiness has beneficial effects and buffers the detrimental effect of stress on health and performance.{{cite journal |last1=Klag |first1=Stefanie |last2=Bradley |first2=Graham |title=The role of hardiness in stress and illness: An exploration of the effect of negative affectivity and gender |journal=British Journal of Health Psychology |date=May 2004 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=137–161 |pmid=15125801 |doi=10.1348/135910704773891014}} Although early studies relied almost exclusively on male business executives, over the years this buffer-effect has been demonstrated in a large variety of occupational groups as well as non-professionals, including military groups,{{cite book |last=Bartone|first=P.T.|year=2000|chapter=Hardiness as a resiliency factor for United States Forces in the Gulf War|editor-first1=J.M.|editor-last1=Violanti|editor-first2=D.|editor-last2=Paton|editor-first3=C.|editor-last3=Dunning|title=Posttraumatic stress intervention: Challenges, issues and perspectives|pages=115–133|location=Springfield, Ill. |publisher=Charles C Thomas Publisher Ltd.}}{{cite journal|last=Westman|first=M.|year=1990|title=The relationship between stress and performance: The moderating effect of hardiness|journal=Human Performance|volume=3 |issue=3|pages=141–155 |doi=10.1207/s15327043hup0303_1}} teachers and university staff,{{cite journal|last=Nishizaka|first=S. |year=2002|title=Kindergarten teachers' mental health: Stress, pre-school teacher efficacy, and hardiness|journal=Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology|volume= 50|issue=3|pages=283–290|doi=10.5926/jjep1953.50.3_283|doi-access=free}} firefighters,{{cite journal |last1=Jimenez |first1=B.M. |last2=Natera |first2=N.I.M. |last3=Munoz |first3=A.R. |last4=Benadero |first4=M.E.M. |year=2006 |title=Hardy personality as moderator variable of burnout syndrome in firefighters |journal=Psicothema |volume=18 |pages=413–418 |pmid=17296065 |issue=3}} and students.{{cite journal |last1=Hystad |first1=S.W. |last2=Eid |first2=J. |last3=Laberg |first3=J.C. |last4=Johnsen |first4=B.H. |last5=Bartone |first5=P.T. |year=2009 |title=Academic stress and health: Exploring the moderating role of personality hardiness |journal=Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research |volume=53 |issue=5 |pages=421–429 |doi=10.1080/00313830903180349 |s2cid=145768328}} However, not every investigation has demonstrated such moderating or buffering effects and there is a debate whether the effects of hardiness are interactive or primarily independent of levels of stress.{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal |last=Funk |first=S.C. |year=1992 |title=Hardiness – A review of theory and research |journal=Health Psychology |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=335–345 |doi=10.1037/0278-6133.11.5.335 |pmid=1425552}}

|2={{cite journal |last1=Sinclair |first1=R.R. |last2=Tetrick |first2=L.E. |year=2000 |title=Implications of item wording for hardiness structure, relation with neuroticism, and stress buffering |journal=Journal of Research in Personality |volume=34 |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1006/jrpe.1999.2265}}

}}

Hardiness appears to confer resiliency by means of a combination of cognitive and behavioural mechanisms, and biophysical processes. Very simplified: as stressful circumstances mount, so does the physical and mental strain on the person, and if this strain is sufficiently intense and prolonged, breakdowns in health and performance are to be expected. The personality style of hardiness moderates this process by encouraging effective mental and behavioural coping, building and utilizing social support, and engaging in effective self-care and health practices.

According to Kobasa, people high in hardiness tend to put stressful circumstances into perspective and interpret them as less threatening. As a consequence of these optimistic appraisals, the impact of the stressful events is reduced and they are less likely to negatively affect the health of the person. Research on self-reported stressors, real-life stressful experiences, and laboratory-induced stress support this claim.{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal|last1=Allred|first1=K.D.|last2=Smith|first2=T.W.|year=1989|title=The hardy personality – Cognitive and physiological responses to evaluative threat|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 56|pages=257–266|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.56.2.257|pmid=2926628|issue=2|s2cid=13936888 }}

|2={{cite journal|last1=Banks|first1=J.K.|last2=Gannon|first2=L.R.|year=1988|title=The influence of hardiness on the relationship between stressors and psychosomatic symptomatology|journal=American Journal of Community Psychology|volume= 16|pages=25–37|doi=10.1007/BF00906070|pmid=3369380|issue=1|s2cid=30533552 }}

|3={{cite journal|last1=Clark|first1=L.M.|last2=Hartman|first2=M.|year=1996|title=Effects of hardiness and appraisal on the psychological distress and physical health of caregivers to elderly relatives |journal=Research on Aging|volume= 18|pages=379–401|doi=10.1177/0164027596184001|issue=4|s2cid=144383438 }}

|4={{cite journal|last1=DiBartolo|first1=M.C.|last2=Soeken|first2=K.L.|year=2003|title=Appraisal, coping, hardiness, and self-perceived health in community-dwelling spouse caregivers of persons with dementia|journal=Research in Nursing & Health|volume=26|issue=6|pages=445–458|doi=10.1002/nur.10107|pmid=14689461 }}

|5={{cite journal|last1=Rhodewalt|first1=F.|author-link1=Rhodewalt, F.|last2=Zone|first2=J.B.|year=1989|title=Appraisal of life change, depression, and illness in hardy and nonhardy women|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 56|pages=81–88|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.56.1.81|pmid=2926618|issue=1}}

}}{{cite journal |last1=Florian |first1=V. |last2=Mikulincer |first2=M. |last3=Taubman |first3=O. |year=1995 |title=Does hardiness contribute to mental-health during a stressful real-life situation: The roles of appraisal and coping |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 68 |pages=687–695 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.687 |pmid=7738771 |issue=4}}{{cite journal |last=Wiebe |first=D.J. |year=1991 |title=Hardiness and stress moderation: A test of proposed mechanisms |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=60 |pages=89–99|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.60.1.89 |pmid=1995836|issue=1}} For example, two studies used military cadets undergoing stressful training as participants and found that cadets that scored high on hardiness appraised the combat training in less threatening terms, and at the same time viewed themselves as more capable of coping with the training.

The coping style most commonly associated with hardiness is transformational coping, which transforms stressful events into less stressful ones.{{cite journal|last=Maddi|first=S.R.|year=1999|title=The personality construct of hardiness: I. Effects on experiencing, coping, and strain|journal=Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research|volume= 51|pages=83–94|doi=10.1037/1061-4087.51.2.83|issue=2}} At the cognitive level this involves setting the event into a broader perspective in which it does not seem so terrible. At the level of action, people high in hardiness are believed to react to stressful events by increasing their interaction with them, trying to turn them into an advantage and opportunity for growth. In the process they achieve greater understanding. In support of this notion, two studies demonstrated that the effects of hardiness on symptoms of illness were partly mediated through the positive relation of hardiness to presumed beneficial coping styles and the negative relation to presumed harmful styles of coping.{{cite journal|last1=Soderstrom|first1=M.|last2=Dolbier|first2=C.|last3=Leiferman|first3=J.|last4=Steinhardt|first4=M. |year=2000|title=The relationship of hardiness, coping strategies, and perceived stress to symptoms of illness|journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine|volume= 23|pages=311–328|doi=10.1023/A:1005514310142|pmid=10863680|issue=3|s2cid=18136669 |url=https://bulletin.tomsk.ru/jour/article/view/1975|url-access=subscription}}

Transformational coping can also include health-promoting behaviour and recruiting or making adequate use of social resources. One study showed that in relation to work-environment stress, support from the boss but not support from home promoted health among executives high in hardiness. For those executives ranked low in hardiness, support from the boss did not promote health and family support worsened their health status. These results suggested that hardy people know what type of support to use in a given situation. Another study found support for an indirect effect of hardiness through social support on post-traumatic stress symptomatology in American veterans of the Vietnam War.{{cite journal|last1=Taft|first1=C.T.|last2=Stern|first2=A.S.|last3=King|first3=L.A.|last4=King|first4=D.W.|year=1999|title=Modeling physical health and functional health status: The role of combat exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder, and personal resource attributes|journal=Journal of Traumatic Stress|volume= 12|pages=3–23|doi=10.1023/A:1024786030358|pmid=10027139|issue=1|s2cid=42254899 }}

Although several studies found hardiness to be related to making good use of social resources, some studies failed to support this, finding instead that the two concepts made independent contributions to positive health outcomes.{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal|last1=Gill|first1=M.J.|last2=Harris|first2=S.L.|year=1991|title=Hardiness and social support as predictors of psychological discomfort in mothers of children with autism|journal=Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders|volume= 21|pages=407–416|doi=10.1007/BF02206867|pmid=1778957|issue=4|s2cid=33166578 }}

|2={{cite journal|last1=Pengilly|first1=J.W.|last2=Dowd|first2=E.T. |year=2000|title=Hardiness and social support as moderators of stress|journal=Journal of Clinical Psychology|volume= 56|pages=813–820|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200006)56:6<813::AID-JCLP10>3.0.CO;2-Q|pmid=10877469|issue=6}}

}}

Several investigations found hardiness and physical exercise to be uncorrelated.{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal|last1=Kobasa|first1=S.C.|last2=Maddi|first2=S.R.|last3=Puccetti|first3=M.C.|year=1982|title=Personality and exercise as buffers in the stress-illness relationship|journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine|volume= 5|pages=391–404|doi=10.1007/BF00845369|pmid=7154062|issue=4|s2cid=25441196 }}

|2={{cite journal|last1=Roth|first1=D.L.|last2=Wiebe|first2=D.J.|last3=Fillingim|first3=R.B.|last4=Shay|first4=K.A.|year=1989|title=Life events, fitness, hardiness, and health – A simultaneous analysis of proposed stress-resistance effects|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 57|pages=136–142|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.57.1.136|pmid=2754600|issue=1}}

}} However, one study examined a broad array of health-protective behaviours, including exercise, and found that hardiness worked indirectly through these behaviours to influence health.{{cite journal|last1=Wiebe|first1=D.J.|last2=McCallum|first2=D.M.|year=1986|title=Health practices and hardiness as mediators in the stress-illness relationship|journal=Health Psychology|volume= 5|pages=425–438|doi=10.1037/0278-6133.5.5.425|pmid=3757991|issue=5}} Another study found that hardiness was negatively correlated with self-reported alcohol use and with drug use obtained through both urine screens and self-report.{{cite journal|last1=Maddi|first1=S.R.|last2=Wadhwa|first2=P.|last3=Haier|first3=R.J.|year=1996|title=Relationship of hardiness to alcohol and drug use in adolescents|journal=American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse|volume= 22|pages=247–257|doi=10.3109/00952999609001657|pmid=8727058|issue=2}}

Hardiness appears to be related to differences in physiological arousal. Hardiness helps decrease how much stressful events produce arousal in the sympathetic nervous system. Study participants who score high on hardiness exhibit lower cardiovascular reactivity in response to stress.{{cite journal|last=Contrada|first=R.J.|year=1989|title=Type A behavior, personality hardiness, and cardiovascular responses to stress|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 57|pages=895–903|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.895|pmid=2810029|issue=5|citeseerx=10.1.1.507.1970}}

Another study examined the functional efficacy of immune cells in participants who scored low and high on hardiness.{{cite journal|last1=Dolbier|first1=C.L.|last2=Cocke|first2=R.R.|last3=Leiferman|first3=J.A.|last4=Steinhardt|first4=M.A.|last5=Schapiro|first5=S.J.|last6=Nehete|first6=P.N.|year=2001|title=Differences in functional immune responses of high vs. low hardy healthy individuals|journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine|volume= 24|pages=219–229|doi=10.1023/A:1010762606006|pmid=11436543|issue=3|s2cid=1593054 |display-authors=etal}} It considered in vitro proliferation of lymphocytes in response to invading microorganisms (antigens and mitogens), a process believed to mimic the series of events that occurs in vivo following stimulation by invading microorganisms. Results showed that participants who scored high on hardiness had significantly higher mean antigen- and mitogen-induced proliferative responses.{{clarify|reason=explain the ramifications of this finding for those who can't tell whether that's good or bad news|date=August 2023}}

Other studies associated hardiness with variations in cholesterol and hormone levels. Bartone and associates{{cite conference |last1=Bartone |first1=P.T. |last2=Spinosa |first2=T. |last3=Robb |first3=J. |last4=Pastel |first4=R.H. |year=2008 |title=Hardy-resilient style is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels |location=San Antonio, Texas |conference=Association of Military Surgeons of the United States annual meeting}} examined hardiness levels against a full lipid profile including high-density lipoprotein, usually considered a beneficial type of cholesterol.{{cite journal|last=Barter|first=P. |year=2005|title=The role of HDL-cholesterol in preventing atherosclerotic disease |journal=European Heart Journal Supplements|volume= 7|pages=F4–F8|doi=10.1093/eurheartj/sui036|doi-access=free}} This study showed that participants high in hardiness were more than two times as likely to have high levels of high-density lipoprotein compared with participants low in hardiness. Although hardiness might be related to lower levels of the “stress-hormone” cortisol,{{cite journal |last1=Eid |first1=J. |last2=Morgan |first2=C.A. |year=2006 |title=Dissociation, hardiness, and performance in military cadets participating in survival training |journal=Military Medicine |volume=171 |pages=436–442 |pmid=16761896 |issue=5 |doi=10.7205/milmed.171.5.436 |doi-access=free}} one of the few studies that investigated this found higher hardiness associated with higher levels of cortisol.{{cite journal |last1=Zorrilla |first1=E.P. |last2=Derubeis |first2=R.J. |last3=Redei |first3=E. |year=1995 |title=High self-esteem, hardiness and affective stability are associated with higher basal pituitary-adrenal hormone levels |journal=Psychoneuroendocrinology |volume=20 |pages=591–601 |doi=10.1016/0306-4530(95)00005-9 |pmid=8584600 |issue=6 |s2cid=45160923 |doi-access=free}}

Several instruments measure hardiness. The most frequently used are the Personal Views Survey,{{multiref2

|1={{cite book |last=Maddi |first=S.R. |year=1997 |chapter=Personal views survey II: A measure of dispositional hardiness |editor-first1=C.P. |editor-last1=Zalaquett |editor-first2=R.J. |editor-last2=Wood |title=Evaluating stress: A book of resources |pages=293–309 |location=Lanham, Md. |publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc.}}

|2={{cite journal|author=Maddi, S.R. |author2=Harvey, R.H. |author3=Khoshaba, D.M. |author4=Lu, J.L. |author5=Persico, M. |author6=Brow, M. |year=2006 |title=The personality construct of hardiness, III: Relationships with repression, innovativeness, authoritarianism, and performance |journal=Journal of Personality |volume=74 |pages=575–597 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00385.x |pmid=16529587 |issue=2}}

}} the Dispositional Resilience Scale,{{multiref2

|1={{cite conference |last=Bartone |first=P.T. |year=1991 |title=Development and validation of a short hardiness measure |conference=Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society |location=Washington, D.C.}}

|2={{cite conference |last=Bartone |first=P.T. |year=1995 |title=A short hardiness scale |conference=Annual Convention of the American Psychological Society |location=New York}}

|3={{cite journal|author=Bartone, P.T. |author2=Ursano, R.J. |author3=Wright, K.M. |author4=Ingraham, L.H. |year=1989 |title=The impact of a military air disaster on the health of assistance workers: A prospective study|journal=Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease |volume=177 |issue=6 |pages=317–328 |doi=10.1097/00005053-198906000-00001 |pmid=2723619 |s2cid=25271993}}

}} and the Cognitive Hardiness Scale.{{cite journal |last=Nowack |first=K.M. |year=1989 |title=Coping style, cognitive hardiness, and health status |journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=145–158 |pmid=2760920 |doi=10.1007/BF00846548 |s2cid=25676210}} Other scales based on hardiness theory have been designed to measure hardiness in specific contexts and in special populations, for example parental grief and among the chronically ill.{{multiref2

|1={{cite journal |last1=Pollock |first1=S.E. |last2=Duffy |first2=M.E. |year=1990 |title=The health-related hardiness scale: Development and psychometric analysis |journal=Nursing Research |volume=39 |pages=218–222 |pmid=2367202 |issue=4 |doi=10.1097/00006199-199007000-00008 |s2cid=35931025}}

|2={{cite journal |last1=Lang |first1=A. |last2=Goulet |first2=C. |last3=Amsel |first3=R. |year=2003 |title=Lang and Goulet hardiness Scale: Development and testing on bereaved parents following the death of their fetus/infant |journal=Death Studies |volume=27 |issue=10 |pages=851–880 |doi=10.1080/716100345 |pmid=14610777 |s2cid=42736676}} }}

Hardiness, like many personality variables in the field of psychology, measures a continuous dimension. People vary in their levels of hardiness along a continuum from low to high, with a small percentage scoring at the extreme low/high ends. Given large enough samples, the distribution of scores on hardiness measures approximates a normal, Gaussian distribution.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Hardiness has some similarities with other personality constructs. Chief among these are locus of control,{{cite book|last=Rotter|first=J.B.|year=1966|title=Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement|series=Psychological Monographs|volume=80}} Whole No. 609. sense of coherence (SOC),{{cite book|last=Antonovsky|first=A.|year=1987|title=Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well|place=San Francisco, Calif.|publisher=Jossey-Bass}} self-efficacy,{{cite book|last=Bandura|first=A.|year=1997|title=Self-efficacy: The exercise of control|place=New York|publisher=Freeman}} and dispositional optimism.{{cite journal|last1=Scheier|first1=M.F.|last2=Carver|first2=C.S.|year=1985|title=Optimism, coping, and health – Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies|journal=Health Psychology|volume= 4|pages=219–247|doi=10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.219|pmid=4029106|issue=3}} Despite their very different theoretical approaches – hardiness arose from existential psychology and philosophy, SOC has its roots in sociology, whereas locus of control, self-efficacy, and dispositional optimism are all based on a learning/social cognitive perspective – some striking similarities are present. People with a strong SOC perceive life as comprehensible, cognitively meaningful, and manageable. Persons with strong SOC are more likely to adapt to demanding situations and can cope successfully with strenuous life events. Both SOC and the commitment dimension of hardiness emphasize an ability to feel deeply involved in the aspects of our lives. Furthermore, both SOC and control emphasize personal resources in facing the demands of stressful situations. The most notable difference between SOC and hardiness is the challenge facet, with the former highlighting stability whereas the latter emphasizes change.

Hardiness and the remaining constructs of locus of control, dispositional optimism, and self-efficacy all emphasize goal-directed behaviour in some form. For instance, in accordance with the theory of dispositional optimism,{{cite journal|last1=Scheier|first1=M.F.|last2=Carver|first2=C.S.|last3=Bridges|first3=M.W.|year=1994|title=Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem) – A reevaluation of the life orientation test|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume= 67|pages=1063–1078|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063|pmid=7815302|issue=6}} what we expect will be the outcomes of our behaviour helps determine whether we respond to adversity by continuing our efforts or by disengagement. Holding a positive outlook leads to continuous effort to obtain a goal, whereas negative expectations of the future lead to giving up. Similarly, in Bandura's writings on self-efficacy, our beliefs about our ability to do what is required to manage prospective situations highly influences the situations we seek out and the goals we set.

• {{annotated link|Existentialism}}
• {{annotated link|Mental toughness}}
• {{annotated link|Psychological resilience}}
• {{annotated link|Psychology}}
• {{annotated link|Salutogenesis}}
• {{annotated link|Stress management}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.hardiness-resilience.com/ Hardiness-Resilience.com]
• [https://www.hardinessinstitute.com/ Hardiness Institute]

{{Virtues}}

Category:1979 introductions

Category:Positive psychology