Growth, Resilience, and Thriving: A Jangle Fallacy?

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s the constructs of growth, resilience, and thriving have often been conflated and the labels used interchangeably to describe similar experiences. As research literature has grown, separate bodies of work have emerged on each of the constructs giving rise to questions of a jangle fallacy. The purpose of this chapter is to synthesize the existing literature and to explore the similarities and differences between the constructs at the intrapersonal level. Following an initial introduction, the narrative is separated into three sections that each consider a key feature central to the formulation of the constructs: adversity, processes and mechanisms, and levels of functioning. The commentary in these sections is then used to inform proposals for future research, and concluding statements on the critical distinctions between growth, resilience, and thriving. It is hoped that this chapter will provide readers with greater clarity on what is meant by each of these terms, and offer researchers and practitioners a nomenclature that they can employ consistently and accurately when examining these experiences in the future.