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. 2021;18(3):1-17.
doi: 10.1080/15427609.2021.1964897. Epub 2021 Sep 11.

Integrative Science Approach to Resilience: The Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB)

C S Bergeman  1 , S M Boker  2 , N Rose  1 , G A Bonanno  3 , T Seeman  4
Affiliations

Integrative Science Approach to Resilience: The Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being (NDHWB)

C S Bergeman et al. Res Hum Dev. 2021.

Abstract

Although many studies have unequivocally demonstrated the promise of understanding resilience to adversity and characterizing the consequences if stress is unabated, needed are dynamic theories and methods to enhance the rigor and interpretation of these assessments. From a dynamic systems perspective, the focus is not whether an individual possesses some fixed ability or unchangeable trait, but rather to understand the flexibility and responsiveness of stress regulation systems to daily hassles and adverse life events. A renewed interest in individual variability allows researchers to see trajectories of change over both short- and long-time scales to understand the developmental course. As a result, it is possible to answer questions, such as, how does the dysregulation in emotion caused by stress, to both within and between daily affect processes, relate to longitudinal trajectories (over time-scales of years) of dysfunction and disease? The overarching goal of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being is to detail the types and qualities of contextual influences, in conjunction with dynamic psychobiological systems, to assess the precursors, concomitant influences and consequences of stress and resilience in the face of adversity on cognitive, health and well-being outcomes.

Keywords: Dynamic Systems; Stress Regulation; resilience.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A model of the stress-outcome pathways incorporating resilience mechanisms that break the link between stress exposure and health outcomes (Adapted from Lupien, et al., 2006 and McEwen, 1988).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The structure of the Notre Dame Study of Health & Well-being
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Sample cortisol profiles for participants in the Math | Stroop and the Trier Social Stress Test Paradigm.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
A path diagram of the dynamic relationship of stress, positive affect, and their confluence, both within and across time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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