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What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Fredrickson, BL; Tugade, MM; Waugh, CE; Larkin, GR
Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology
February 2003

Extrapolating from B. L. Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, the authors hypothesized that positive emotions are active ingredients within trait resilience. U.S. college students (18 men and 28 women) were tested in early 2001 and again in the weeks following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Mediational analyses showed that positive emotions experienced in the wake of the attacks--gratitude, interest, love, and so forth--fully accounted for the relations between (a) precrisis resilience and later development of depressive symptoms and (b) precrisis resilience and postcrisis growth in psychological resources. Findings suggest that positive emotions in the aftermath of crises buffer resilient people against depression and fuel thriving, consistent with the broaden-and-build theory. Discussion touches on implications for coping.

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Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

February 2003

Volume

84

Issue

2

Start / End Page

365 / 376

Related Subject Headings

  • Terrorism
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Psychology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Female
  • Affect
  • Adult
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Fredrickson, B. L., Tugade, M. M., Waugh, C. E., & Larkin, G. R. (2003). What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 365–376. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.84.2.365
Fredrickson, Barbara L., Michele M. Tugade, Christian E. Waugh, and Gregory R. Larkin. “What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84, no. 2 (February 2003): 365–76. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.84.2.365.
Fredrickson BL, Tugade MM, Waugh CE, Larkin GR. What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2003 Feb;84(2):365–76.
Fredrickson, Barbara L., et al. “What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 84, no. 2, Feb. 2003, pp. 365–76. Epmc, doi:10.1037//0022-3514.84.2.365.
Fredrickson BL, Tugade MM, Waugh CE, Larkin GR. What good are positive emotions in crises? A prospective study of resilience and emotions following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11th, 2001. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2003 Feb;84(2):365–376.

Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

February 2003

Volume

84

Issue

2

Start / End Page

365 / 376

Related Subject Headings

  • Terrorism
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Psychology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Female
  • Affect
  • Adult