Increasing hardiness
What is hardiness?
A person who doesn't mind being outside in the wind and rain is 'hardy'. Hardiness is defined
as being robust and enduring difficult conditions. The psychologist Suzanne Kobasa (1979) first
used the word to describe people who coped well in stressful situations.
The idea came to her during a study on the impact of stress on top executives at a major
American company during a period when the company was breaking up. The employees were
either losing their jobs or being reassigned. She studied the employees over a period of 8 years,
and found that there were two different patterns in the way these executives responded to the
stress.
One group of executives increasingly developed a range of medical and psychological problems,
and made more visits to the doctor. The second group showed no difference in behaviour
during this stressful period as compared with their behaviour beforehand — essentially they
rose to meet the challenge. Kobasa described them as having a stress-hardy personality. You
can read about this study at
www.hardinessinstitute.com/BelLTelephone.htm
Stress-hardy people exhibit several characteristics. They:
• view problems as mere challenges, and are adaptable to change
• feel a sense of commitment to work, family, community — as if life is very meaningful
• feel a sense of control over life and destiny
• feel connected to the world around, having strong, supportive friendships and compan
ionship
The first three are the most important and are usually referred to as 'the three Cs'.
There are many examples of people who suffer great tragedies and somehow find a way to cope.
One way appears to be turning the negative into something positive and thus taking control.
It may be that we experience stress when we do not feel in control, and therefore reversing the
situation reduces stress.
Examples include Candy Lightner, the mother who created MADD (Mother's Against Drunk
Drivers). Her young daughter was killed by a drunk driver. Instead of feeling helpless after this
tragedy, Candy did something very constructive. MADD has had a large effect in the USA and
has undoubtedly saved the lives of other children by keeping more drunk drivers off the road.
The actor Christopher Reeve, completely paralysed from a neck injury- suffered in a horse riding
accident, says, 'I'm so lucky, it's unbelievable'. He now campaigns to increase the research that
will someday find the way to heal serious spinal cord injuries like his own.
Increasing hardiness
Can these characteristics be taught to others to make them more stress-hardy.7 Kobasa and
others have developed various programs to teach people the behavioural, physiological and
mental skills necessary to become stress-hardy (search for 'Hardiness for Hard Times' and
The Hardiness Institute — HardiTraining — on the internet).
The aim is to teach people how to cope in future situations rather than trying to treat symptoms. People
should not avoid stress, but rather respond to it in a positive manner and thus minimise its negative
effects. Many people view stressors as insurmountable disasters and catastrophes. Hardy individuals
turn such events into something positive.
Hardiness training
There are three main processes involved in training individuals to become psychologically
'hardy':
• Focusing. The client is taught to recognise signs of stress and encouraged to identify the
sources of this stress. Signs include muscle tension, back ache, tiredness, grinding teeth at
night and forgetfulness. (For a longer list, visit www.suu.edu/ss/wellness/trauma.html.)
• Reliving stress encounters. The client is asked to relive stressful situations and to analyse
them. The intention is to learn from past experience.
• Self-improvement. The insights gained can be combined with being taught new techniques
— those that help turn stressors into challenges and lead to a greater sense of personal control.
Evaluation
The weaknesses of hardiness training are similar to those for stress-inoculation therapy: considerable effort is required to undergo such training and, in addition, such effort may not be
necessary when similar benefits may be achieved more simply. The therapy may not be suitable
for certain personality types — for example, those who do not wish to reflect on their
behaviour.
The strengths of this method are that there is research support for the concept of hardiness as
a factor in reduced stress, and also for hardiness as a method of stress management. A few such
studies are described below.
Research studies
Studies that support the concept of hardiness
Kobasa et al. (1982) studied 670 male executives over a 5-year period. A record was kept of
serious life events (SLE) during this period and the individuals were assessed for the three Cs
as a measure of hardiness. At the beginning and end of the study, participants' illness symptoms
were recorded.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that high hardy individuals had lower illness
symptoms. This was only true for individuals who were high SLE, i.e. those who experienced
stress most. For low SLE participants there was no difference between high and low hardiness
in terms of illness symptoms.
Williams et al. (1992) found that high hardy people use more problem-focused and supportseeking measures when dealing with stress, in contrast to low hardy people, who tend to use
avoidance and wishful thinking. Hardiness seems to be associated with successful coping
strategies.
Study that does not support the concept of hardiness
Greene and Nowack (1996) conducted a 3-year longitudinal study of 229 full-time employees
to investigate the relationship between stress (as indicated by hassles), hardiness and
absenteeism. There was a correlation between hassles and absenteeism but not between
hardiness and absenteeism. In other words, this study does not support the concept of
hardiness.
Research on increasing hardiness as a means of stress management
Katonah and Flaxman (2001) studied ex-cancer patients. One group was taught various strategies
related to hardiness in six 90-minute sessions. When these patients were compared with a
control group waiting for treatment, the experimental group showed an increase in hardiness
score. At the 6-month follow-up, experimental group scores did not change significantly,
suggesting that patients sustained the changes achieved with this intervention over time.
References
Greene, R. and Nowack, K. (1996) 'Stress, hardiness and absenteeism: results of a 3-year longitudinal study'. Work and Stress, Vol. 9, pp. 448-62. Katonah, D. G. and Flaxman, J. (2001)
'Focusing: an adjunct treatment for adaptive recovery
from cancer' (www.focusing.org/adjunct_treatment.html). Kobasa, S. C. (1979) 'Stressful life
events, personality, and health: an inquiry into hardiness',
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 37, pp. 1-11. Kobasa, S. C. et al. (1982)
'Hardiness and health: a prospective study', journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, Vol. 42, pp. 168-77. Weibe, D. J. and Williams, P. G. (1992) 'Hardiness
and health: a social psychophysiological
perspective on stress and adaptation', Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 11,
pp. 238-62. Williams, P. G. et al. (1992) 'Coping processes as mediators of the
relationship between
hardiness and health', Journal of Behavioural Medicine, Vol. 15, pp. 237-55.