I16 Personality and Social Psychology Review 19(2) adversity individuals who thrive through adversity are eventually able to both cope with it in such a way that they do not stay down and defeated. tem).The perspective advanced here extends attachmen and t ie something constructive from the experi heory in ocus on thriving and in its detailed articu on s m v context th gh which individuals may thrive e the tu involves the experience of life opportunities for growth and prosperity in the absence of adversity.Individuals thrive in adversity and opportunities for growth. hate in opp for thriving through adversity that relationships serve is to s sity,not only by buffering individuals from the negative society (Deci&Ryan,200;RyffSinger ,1998). These om th nes may be require time.effort.and concentration.Thriving individuals Relationships serve an important function of not simply are likely to formulate and actively pursue personal goals helping people return to baseline,but helping them to thriv nined manner (Deci nd life ties)to be a maximally thriving individual,as functioning in nomes that are better able to withstand similar storms in the each context makes independent contributions to thriving uture.So too are people able to em erge from adverse life outcomes stronger and be n than they were Relational Support Functions as Predictors of them in the rebuilding.In this sense.relationships can pro Thriving vide a source of strength,in addition to a refuge,in adverse umstances throug to the support into the kinds of pe onswho don't simply avoid problem pport-seeking in times of adversity)as the provision of a but who embrace life and make full use of haven. conceptualization is at b n(B 1by,19% which e for hov ionsh suppor conte of one close relationships promote stress (Collins&Feeney,2000:B.C.Feeney.2004:Feeney that pu ps at the ront in I he s Thi takea new look at social suppo ptualize itin the terms of the promotion of positive well-being instead of only are almost always referring to the provision(or ng)of d to view ersonal proce tional aid in response to stre ul c eg expe e A key proposition of this p ective is that well-function felt security when needed by providin ing close elationships(with family,friends,and intimate par notiona omfort and facilitating problem resolutio me serv g thriving as th exts th gh which pe nle m the afe h not fully all of what cessfully with adv sity.and participating in opportun eeded to promote thriving through adversity.Thus.we ties for growth and fulfillment in the abse of adve cory's notion a safe haven and refert (B 099. M ment 2007) supp which ses that all individuals enter the world with pr t(denicted in the ton p tion of Figur pensities to seek proximity to in times of stress(a )We emphasize the motion of thriving throug adversity attachment behavioral system),to explore the environment (an as the core purpose of this broader support fiunction.116 Personality and Social Psychology Review 19(2) Although everyone experiences adversity, individuals who thrive through adversity are eventually able to both cope with it in such a way that they do not stay down and defeated, and take something useful or constructive from the experi￾ence that enhances their well-being. A second context through which individuals may thrive involves the experience of life opportunities for growth and prosperity in the absence of adversity. Individuals thrive in this context when they are able to fully participate in oppor￾tunities for fulfillment and personal growth through work, play, socializing, learning, discovery, creating, pursuing hob￾bies, and making meaningful contribution to community and society (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryff & Singer, 1998). These opportunities may be viewed as positive challenges because they often involve goal strivings and goal pursuits that require time, effort, and concentration. Thriving individuals are likely to formulate and actively pursue personal goals, and to pursue them in a self-determined manner (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Emmons, 1991). Theoretically, one must func￾tion well in both life contexts (adversity and life opportuni￾ties) to be a maximally thriving individual, as functioning in each context makes independent contributions to thriving outcomes. Relational Support Functions as Predictors of Thriving What enables people to thrive through adversity and through life opportunities for growth? That is, how do people “flower into the kinds of persons who don’t simply avoid problems and pathologies, but who embrace life and make full use of their special gifts in ways that benefit themselves and oth￾ers?” (Benson & Scales, 2009, p. 90). Our ultimate goal is to make a case for how responsive social support within the context of one’s close relationships promotes thriving. In making this case, we present a model of thriving through relationships that puts relationships at the forefront in facili￾tating or hindering thriving. This perspective requires us to take a new look at social support and to re-conceptualize it in terms of the promotion of positive well-being instead of only buffering stress—and to view it as an interpersonal process that unfolds over time instead of an attitude or expectation (e.g., perceived available support). A key proposition of this perspective is that well-function￾ing close relationships (with family, friends, and intimate part￾ners) are fundamental to thriving because they serve two important support functions that correspond to the two life contexts through which people may potentially thrive—cop￾ing successfully with adversity, and participating in opportuni￾ties for growth and fulfillment in the absence of adversity. These support functions are rooted in attachment theory (Bowlby, 1973, 1982, 1988; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007), which proposes that all individuals enter the world with pro￾pensities to seek proximity to close others in times of stress (an attachment behavioral system), to explore the environment (an exploration system), and to support the attachment and explo￾ration behavior of close others (a caregiving behavioral sys￾tem). The perspective advanced here extends attachment theory in its focus on thriving and in its detailed articulation of ways in which supportive relationships contribute to thriving outcomes. We begin by elaborating on the two support func￾tions that relationships serve that facilitate thriving through adversity and opportunities for growth. Support for thriving through adversity. One important function that relationships serve is to support thriving through adver￾sity, not only by buffering individuals from the negative effects of stress, but also by helping them to emerge from the stressor in a way that enables them to flourish either because of or despite their circumstances (see Figure 1, Paths a-c). Relationships serve an important function of not simply helping people return to baseline, but helping them to thrive by exceeding prior baseline levels of functioning. A useful metaphor is that houses destroyed by storms are frequently rebuilt, not into the same houses that existed before, but into homes that are better able to withstand similar storms in the future. So too are people able to emerge from adverse life circumstances stronger and better off than they were before with the support of significant others who fortify and assist them in the rebuilding. In this sense, relationships can pro￾vide a source of strength, in addition to a refuge, in adverse circumstances. In other work, we refer to the support of a relationship partner’s attachment behaviors (i.e., proximity-seeking and support-seeking in times of adversity) as the provision of a safe haven. This conceptualization is based on attachment theory’s notion of a safe haven (Bowlby, 1988), which func￾tions to support behaviors that involve “coming in” to a rela￾tionship for comfort, reassurance, and assistance in times of stress (Collins & Feeney, 2000; B. C. Feeney, 2004; Feeney & Collins, 2004). Although the term safe haven has not gener￾ally been used in the social support literature, this is the type of support that has most often been studied in prior work. Indeed, when researchers use the term social support, they are almost always referring to the provision (or seeking) of instrumental or emotional aid in response to stressful or nega￾tive life events. From an attachment perspective, good sup￾port-providers are those who are able to effectively restore an attached person’s felt security when needed—by providing emotional comfort and facilitating problem resolution. However, when viewing thriving as the ultimate outcome of receiving support (and not only restoration of felt security), then the term safe haven does not fully capture all of what is needed to promote thriving through adversity. Thus, we expand attachment theory’s notion of a safe haven and refer to this relational support function that strengthens/fortifies as well as comforts/protects in times of adversity as Source of Strength (SOS) support (depicted in the top portion of Figure 1). We emphasize the promotion of thriving through adversity as the core purpose of this broader support function. Downloaded from psr.sagepub.com at Remen University of China on September 6, 2015