Benefit finding
Positive change from struggling with highly challenging life circumstances.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Benefit finding is a concept in psychology that refers to the positive psychological changes individuals may experience as a result of struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances. It is closely related to post-traumatic growth (PTG), which involves life-changing psychological shifts in thinking and relating to the world and the self, contributing to a deeply meaningful personal process of change. The idea that suffering and distress can yield positive change is thousands of years old, appearing in ancient Hebrew, Greek, early Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Baháʼí writings, as well as in philosophical inquiry and works of novelists, dramatists, and poets.
- field
- Psychology
- known_for
- Positive psychological change following trauma
- related_concept
- Post-traumatic growth (PTG)
- key_researchers
- Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun
- associated_models
- Stress related growth model (Crystal Park), adversarial growth model (Joseph and Linley)
Lore & Background
Benefit finding is a component of post-traumatic growth, which was coined by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. According to Tedeschi, as many as 89% of survivors report at least one aspect of post-traumatic growth, such as a renewed appreciation for life. The concept is distinct from psychological resilience, which involves returning to a previous level of functioning; benefit finding goes beyond resilience by involving finding benefits within challenges.
Reader's Guide
Benefit finding is significant because it reframes the aftermath of trauma as potentially transformative rather than solely damaging. It is documented that reports of growth experiences after traumatic events far outnumber reports of psychiatric disorders. However, not everyone who experiences trauma develops benefit finding; growth does not occur as a direct result of trauma but from the individual's struggle with the new reality. Factors promoting benefit finding include deliberate rumination, acceptance coping, social support, and certain personality traits like openness and agreeableness. The concept has been explored through models such as Crystal Park's stress related growth model and Joseph and Linley's adversarial growth model, which link growth with psychological wellbeing. Benefit finding and distress often coexist, and the presence of growth does not negate the pain of trauma.
Did You Know?
- Benefit finding is associated with changes across five areas: appreciation of life, relating to others, personal strength, new possibilities, and spiritual or philosophical change.
- The term 'post-traumatic growth' was coined by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun.
- As many as 89% of survivors report at least one aspect of post-traumatic growth, such as a renewed appreciation for life.
- Benefit finding and negative trauma outcomes like PTSD often coexist.
More in Traumatology 1-24
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