Resilience Processes in Adolescents: Personality Profiles, Self-Worth, and Coping

Abstract

Trends in resilience research are shifting from identifying characteristics of children who are resilient in the face of adversity to identifying processes that promote resilience under normative conditions. The authors examined the potential for different associations of two correlates of resilience (self-worth and coping) with a third (personality dimensions). Specifically, the authors used cluster analysis to identify three discrete personality profiles using data from 181 11th-grade students (48% male, 78% White). Discriminant function analysis was then used to investigate the association of these three personality profiles with two variables that have characterized resilient youth: self-worth and coping. Consistent with prior research, the combination of being extroverted, agreeable, and open to new experiences was associated with high self-worth. Additionally, positive coping was also associated with compensatory mechanisms for adolescents who were high on disagreeableness and emotional instability. These findings suggest that there may be different compensatory mechanisms operating for adolescents with different personality profiles.