WHO/WHAT: Tony Lamotte will deliver a research presentation entitled “Improving the measurement and conceptualisation of stress-related growth”. Tony is a Clinical PhD student in the UON school of psychology, under the supervision of Dr Miles Bore and Dr Seam Halpin; he is also currently SOPRG student rep.
WHEN: Tuesday 8th September, 12-1pm,
WHERE: Keats room, Aviation building, Callaghan
WHERELSE: video conferenced to: Meeting room, Science Offices, Ourimbah (please advise Stefania if you plan to be at the Ourimbah end)
ABSTRACT: The belief that adverse events can have positive consequences is best captured by Nietzsche's famous statement, "That which does not kill me, only makes me stronger". While the existence of this phenomenon - known as stress-related growth (SRG) - has been expressed in philosophy, theology, and literature for thousands of years, it was not until the 1990s that its scientific study began in earnest. As a consequence, there is much about SRG that remains unknown. Tony's PhD aims to fill in some of these gaps in the literature. In his presentation, he will discuss the results of a qualitative study that suggests that current conceptualisations of SRG are limited and overlook changes in goal-directed action following significant stressors. He will also outline plans for his next two studies. One study aims to improve the quantitative measurement of SRG and to develop a subscale that measures the missing component of goal-directed action. The second study aims to expand models of SRG to include the role of beliefs regarding the potential for stressful events to result in positive outcomes. It is predicted that these beliefs, which have not previously been examined, are potentially stronger predictors of SRG than the established predictors of optimism, social support, positive reappraisal coping, and religious coping.
