Appraisal—finding meaning despite the pain

Cynthia A. Lietz and Breanna M. Carpenter Lietz

Chapter 13 in How to Build Resilience in College Students, 2026, pp 132-140 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Appraisal is the ability to attach positive meaning even to one's most difficult experiences, and it is an important part of many people's stories of resilience. This protective factor is not usually evident early in the process of resilience, considering emotions related to loss, trauma, or other challenges are often fresh, and people are therefore not in the place to make meaning out of new painful circumstances. However, over time, people who face higher than typical doses of adversity can adopt a more positive mindset about their circumstances. In this chapter, we discuss appraisal, or the ability to find meaning in adversity, as one of the 10 most important protective factors when activating or cultivating the process of resilience in college students. The chapter closes with one student's experience of leaning into appraisal following a very difficult loss that occurred while he was in college.

Keywords: Resilience; College students; Protective factors; Appraisal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035365081
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