The dynamics of appraisal II: a meta-analysis of the relationship between fortitude and the indices of psychological well-being

Abstract

Identifying the factors that contribute to differential vulnerability in the face of adversity is key to psychology fulfilling its mandate as a helping profession. One such factor, fortitude, which is described as the psychological strength to manage adversity and to stay well, has consistently been linked to psychological well-being. The objective of the research was to statistically integrate studies examining the relationship between fortitude and the indices of psychological well-being by using a meta-analysis. We used a random-effects model for the meta-analysis. In addition to the overall effect size, we examined publication bias and the moderating role of age and methodological quality. We also performed a subgroup analysis to compare between studies with positive and negative indicators of psychological well-being. In addition, we used robust variance estimation to account for effect-size dependencies, as some studies have reported more than one correlation coefficient. A total of 13 studies reporting 35 correlation coefficients pertaining to the relationship between fortitude and the indices of psychological well-being were extracted. The meta-analysis revealed a significant overall effect (r =.44, p <.001). The results also indicated that age and methodological quality did not influence the effect size. Subgroup analysis indicated that the overall effect size for studies that used positive indicators (r =.49, p <.001) was higher than that for studies that used negative indicators (r =.36, p [removed]