Adjustment to Threatening Events

A theory of cognitive adaptation to threatening events is proposed. It is argued that the adjustment process centers around three themes: A search for meaning in the experience, an attempt to regain mastery over the event in particular and over one's life more generally, and an effort to restore self- esteem through self-enhancing evaluations. These themes are discussed with reference to cancer patients' coping efforts. It is maintained that successful ad- justment depends, in a large part, on the ability to sustain and modify illusions that buffer not only against present threats but also against possible future setbacks. One of the most impressive qualities of the human psyche is its ability to withstand severe personal trag- edy successfully. Despite serious setbacks such as per- sonal illness or the death of a family member, the majority of people facing such blows achieve a quality of life or level of happiness equivalent to or even exceeding their prior level of satisfaction. 1 Not ev- eryone readjusts, of course (Silver & Wortman, 1980), but most do, and furthermore they do so substantially on their own. That is, typically people do not seek professional help in dealing with personal problems. They use their social networks and individual re- sources, and their apparent cure rate, if self-reports of satisfaction are to be trusted, is impressive even by professional standards (Gurin, Veroff, & Feld, 1960; Wills, 1982), These self-curing abilities are a formidable re- source, and our recent work with cancer patients, cardiac patients, rape victims, and other individuals facing life-threatening events has explored them. The consequence of these investigations is a theory of cog- nitive adaptation. I will argue that when an individual has experienced a personally threatening event, the readjustment process focuses around three themes; a search for meaning in the experience, an attempt