Feeney and Collins 19 promotes thriving goes beyond just buffering stress and (b) for exploration which emnhasizes a nassive waiting role) support for thriving should be examined in more than just the term secure base does not fully capture a support function stressful life contexts. that prom otes thriving in the absenc of adversity. us,10 Support for thriving through participation in life opportunities in Ar nother important necessary for supp porting thriving.We refer to this relationa support function that promotes engagement in lite opportun sity (Figure Paths.Supportive relationships can help es people thrive by promoting engagement in opportunities rt-providers can serve as active catalys ts for thriving in ha enable th enhan d rickson.2001)and finding rnose and meaning in life (Ryff&Singer,1998).Although most research in the social e thriving thr life oppo nities?Table 2 pr ovides a summary of the com versity is ponents of RC support.First,nurturing a desire to creat tive is that people must fully embrace life and its opp life oppor gr a key f ties to thrive,and that close relationships are integral in this (both big and small);encouraging a close other to challeng ofa or extend hir w as an individual (e.g.,lea one play,discover,and accomplish goals)as the provision of a secure base(e.g.B.C.Feeney,2004,2007).This s is based on suing life or n of e mch funct embrace even small opportunities that may be stepping sto ause opportur (Bowlby,1988;see also Crowell et al., .2002:Waters Cummings,2000).Although overlook in the social sup vating the p suit of life opp tunities port literature. supp o-provider Doing this involves Droviding signals of distress.but also how to support explora behavior(e.g,autonomous goal strivings,pe ersonal growth on the B30 into the ing tha ven opportunity-pursuits can lead to wth vork.learn.discover.create)knowing that he/she can retumn e e.or as stance should he/she encou ties that mightotherwise be missed Because a along the way. (1988)describe ment to engaging in life opportunities begin with the ecipient' cept f ther e.g to the world in a confident way: and aluate opportunities before they pass.This includes help of b when called upon to ence ing them create a vision of future pe ssibilities.as vi izing and pe but to e a Ti P to attaining the base from whic for by promoting the devel ry fore out and to which of the opment of plans,strategies,skills, and resources for approaching his includes encouraging the ding the expeditionary H) is secure tha pres in attaining neces ary resources accommodating plans/stra egies for pursuing goals,providing direct instruction or feed However,when viewing thriving as the ultimate outcome relevan of receiving social support (instead of just providing a bas capa (and Feeney and Collins 119 promotes thriving goes beyond just buffering stress and (b) support for thriving should be examined in more than just stressful life contexts. Support for thriving through participation in life opportunities in the absence of adversity. Another important function that relationships serve is to provide support for thriving through participation in life opportunities in the absence of adver￾sity (Figure 1, Paths d-f). Supportive relationships can help people thrive by promoting engagement in opportunities that enable them to enhance their positive well-being by broadening and building resources (Bowlby, 1988; Fred￾rickson, 2001) and finding purpose and meaning in life (Ryff & Singer, 1998). Although most research in the social support literature concerns support in times of stress, we emphasize that support in the absence of adversity is equally important for thriving. A key aspect of this perspec￾tive is that people must fully embrace life and its opportuni￾ties to thrive, and that close relationships are integral in this process. In other work, we have referred to the support of a signifi￾cant other’s exploration behavior (e.g., desires to learn, grow, play, discover, and accomplish goals) as the provision of a secure base (e.g., B. C. Feeney, 2004, 2007). This is based on attachment theory’s notion of a secure base, which functions to support behaviors that involve “going out” from a rela￾tionship for autonomous exploration in the environment (Bowlby, 1988; see also Crowell et al., 2002; Waters & Cummings, 2000). Although overlooked in the social sup￾port literature, good support-providers must not only know how to respond appropriately to attachment behavior and signals of distress, but also how to support exploration behavior (e.g., autonomous goal strivings, personal growth; Bowlby, 1988). Thus, an important aspect of support-giving involves the provision of a secure base from which an attached person can make excursions into the world (to play, work, learn, discover, create) knowing that he/she can return for comfort, reassurance, or assistance should he/she encoun￾ter difficulties along the way. Bowlby (1988) describes the concept of a secure base as one in which support-providers create the conditions that enable significant others to explore the world in a confident way: In essence this role is one of being available, ready to respond when called upon to encourage and perhaps assist, but to intervene actively only when clearly necessary. In these respects it is a role similar to that of the officer commanding a military base from which an expeditionary force sets out and to which it can retreat, should it meet with a setback. Much of the time the role of the base is a waiting one but it is none the less vital for that. For it is only when the officer commanding the expeditionary force is confident his base is secure that he dare press forward and take risks. (p. 11) However, when viewing thriving as the ultimate outcome of receiving social support (instead of just providing a base for exploration, which emphasizes a passive, waiting role), the term secure base does not fully capture a support function that promotes thriving in the absence of adversity. Thus, for the model presented here, we expand attachment theory’s notion of a secure base to include additional components necessary for supporting thriving. We refer to this relational support function that promotes engagement in life opportuni￾ties in non-adverse times as Relational Catalyst (RC) sup￾port (depicted in the bottom portion of Figure 1) because support-providers can serve as active catalysts for thriving in this context. We emphasize the promotion of thriving through life opportunities as the core purpose of this broader support function. How does one promote thriving through engagement in life opportunities? Table 2 provides a summary of the com￾ponents of RC support. First, nurturing a desire to create and/or seize life opportunities for growth is a key function. This includes expressing enthusiasm for life opportunities; validating a close other’s goals, dreams, and aspirations (both big and small); encouraging a close other to challenge or extend himself/herself to grow as an individual (e.g., leave one’s comfort zone to try challenging as well as familiar activities); communicating the potential benefits of creating/ pursuing life opportunities; and providing encouragement to embrace even small opportunities that may be stepping stones to bigger ones. Because opportunities are not always readily available, the encouragement to take initiative in cre￾ating one’s own opportunities is an important part of moti￾vating the pursuit of life opportunities. Doing this successfully involves providing perceptual assistance in the viewing of life opportunities, which is another function of RC support. This includes helping a close other to focus on the positive aspects of opportunities instead of being paralyzed by potential difficulties and communicat￾ing that even unsuccessful opportunity-pursuits can lead to growth and subsequent opportunities. Perceptual assistance also includes assisting the person in recognizing opportuni￾ties that might otherwise be missed. Because a major impedi￾ment to engaging in life opportunities begins with the recipient’s perception of them (e.g., as too difficult, as a threat to security, as likely to result in failure), relational cat￾alysts help their significant others to notice and positively evaluate opportunities before they pass. This includes help￾ing them create a vision of future possibilities, as visualizing potential outcomes may be a first step to attaining them. A third function of RC support is to facilitate preparation for engagement in life opportunities by promoting the devel￾opment of plans, strategies, skills, and resources for approaching opportunities. This includes encouraging the development of requisite skills (and giving necessary space to do so), providing instrumental or informational assistance in attaining necessary resources, accommodating plans/strat￾egies for pursuing goals, providing direct instruction or feed￾back if one has relevant expertise, encouraging one to perform to his/her capabilities (and to stretch his/her Downloaded from psr.sagepub.com at Remen University of China on September 6, 2015