In this volume, Alex Zautra illustrates how experience with difficult or stressful emotional situations can, contrary to popular belief, be beneficial; for example, our ability to adapt to stress can be improved by experiencing difficult moments on emotional intensity. Zautra masterfully integrates research and theory on emotion and stress, identifying a unique and important role for stressful life events. He offers new insights into how stress and emotions can influence health and illness and demonstrates the wide applicability of this perspective across domains of love and marriage, work, aging, and community. By reviewing research on chronic pain, depression, child abuse, and addiction, Zautra also provides new insights into clinical problems.

The first book to move beyond childhood and adolescence to explore processes of resilience across the lifespan, this cutting-edge volume synthesizes the best current research in the field. Contributors offer a comprehensive examination of resilience at multiple levels of analysis, from genetic and physiological factors through individual, family, and community processes. Compelling topics include: * Whether resilience is best understood as a trait, a dynamic developmental process, an outcome, or all of the above. * How resilience intersects with health and well-being across the adult life cycle. * Cross-cultural issues in conceptualization and measurement. * Ways to enhance adult resilience, including reviews of exemplary programs.