Constructing Optimism as Anticipatory Resilience: Enacting Resilience Processes Over Time Following Pandemic-Related Job Loss Predicts Optimism of Lessons Learned

The communication theory of resilience (CTR) conceptualizes resilience as both reactive (i.e., processes enacted in response to current disruption) and anticipatory (i.e., mindsets and resources cultivated proactively over time). To test CTR’s assumption that enacting resilience processes helps cultivate anticipatory resilience, U.S. adults who involuntarily lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic were surveyed about their engagement in resilience processes in spring 2021 (wave 1), as well as two and four months later (waves 2 and 3). In the third wave, participants reported lessons they learned from experiencing job loss during a pandemic, and responses were rated for the degree to which their lessons expressed optimism. Self-reported enactment of CTR processes 2 and 4 months earlier predicted optimism in lessons learned at the final survey after controlling for social and material well-being. Findings extend CTR and have implications for supporting individuals and families experiencing disruption.