Reciprocal Relationships between Positive Emotions and Resilience Predict Flourishing Among Adolescents

The broaden and build theory of positive emotions maintains that positive emotions serve to broaden humans' thoughts and behaviors, resulting in the accrual of resources (e.g., resilience) which catalyze upward spirals of well-being; however, there is a relative dearth of research that has examined the upward spiral hypothesis in the context of adolescence. Adolescents (N = 4064) were surveyed annually for three years. Reciprocal associations between positive emotions and resilience were examined as predictors of flourishing. Adolescents who experienced more positive emotions than usual reported higher levels of resilience one year later. Similarly, adolescents who had higher levels of resilience than usual reported more positive emotions the subsequent year. Higher than usual levels of resilience and positive emotions predicted greater flourishing. Positive emotions result in a cascade of beneficial outcomes for the individual that are not limited to future experiences of positive emotions but also increased resilience and enhanced well-being.