Benefit finding (BF) is defined as the individual’s perception of positive change as a result of coping with an adverse life event. The beneficial effects of BF on well-being could be because BF favors the improvement of resources like self-efficacy, social support and effective coping. The main objective of this longitudinal 8 week study was to explore, in a sample of cardiac patients (n = 51), the combined contribution of BF and these resources to the positive affect. Moreover, we wanted to check whether these resources were derived from BF or, on the contrary, these resources were antecedents of BF. Results showed that after controlling for functional capacity, only effective coping could predict the positive affect at Time 1 (β = .32, p < .05), while the BF predicted it at Time 2 (β = .23, p < .001). Only social support predicted BF (β = .26, p < .05), but not the opposite. We discussed the desirability of promoting these processes to improve the emotional state of cardiac patients.

Many people experience a non-marital relationship breakup, which can lead to poor adjustment outcomes; however, relative to divorce, non-marital breakups have received less research attention, particularly on factors that may predict positive adjustment outcomes. We examined the adaptive role of finding benefits in a non-marital breakup in 140 participants who completed measures of benefit finding, the impact of the event, and adjustment. Regression analyses found that benefit finding related to positive adjustment outcomes and that the benefit finding-depression relationship was moderated by the impact of the event. This study provides empirical support for benefit finding in a non-marital relationship breakup.

Introduction: Research has indicated that individuals may report benefit finding (BF) as a result of experiencing potentially life-threatening traumatic events, such as being diagnosed with cancer or sustaining an acquired brain injury (ABI). No study to date has examined the incidence and correlates of BF in adult brain tumour samples. The present study aimed to investigate the association between BF and demographic and psychosocial variables in adults treated for a benign meningioma. Method: Seventy participants aged 36 to 87 years completed questionnaires that assessed perceived BF resulting from one's meningioma experience, intrusion and avoidance symptoms, emotional wellbeing and perceived quality of social support. Results: 39% of the sample had been diagnosed with their tumour within a 2-year period prior to assessment (‘early’ meningioma subgroup), while the remaining 61% of participants had been diagnosed with their tumour for more than 2 years (‘late’ meningioma subgroup). Almost two thirds (63%) of the sample reported deriving a moderate amount of BF due to their meningioma experience; although different psychological variables were found to be associated with BF according to group status. Whereas greater BF was found to be significantly associated with elevated depressive symptoms in the ‘early’ subsample, elevated BF was significantly positively correlated with intrusions and avoidance symptoms in the ‘late’ subsample. Conclusions: The findings indicate that BF may co-occur in context of both adaptive and positive illusory processes, which is consistent with the Janus-Face model of growth following adversity. The findings also support the use of psychosocial interventions to facilitate psychosocial adjustment following health crises.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate outcome expectation and self-regulation measures within a sample of cancer patients and to explore relationships of these variables with benefit finding. The outcome expectation and self-regulation measures were evaluated for reliability and initial factor structure.

Method: A convenience sample of 141 cancer patients completed study measures while waiting for appointments at a cancer center.

Results: The measures demonstrated good reliability (alphas = .88 and .92, for outcome expectation and self-regulation respectively). Initial factor structure suggested six outcome expectation factors (managing symptoms, expressing emotions, talking about cancer, learning about cancer, managing self-image, and managing needs) and one self-regulation factor. Gender and treatment status were related to outcome expectations but not self-regulation. Outcome expectations and self-regulation were significant predictors of benefit-finding, F(8, 80) = 3.1, p = .005.

Significance of the research: Measures of outcome expectations and self-regulation are reliable, are related to gender and clinical variables, and may be useful as predictors of cancer patients' ability to find benefits in their cancer experience.