Tsai study measures the emerging idea of antifragility in low-income veterans
A recent study led by Jack Tsai, PhD, professor and regional dean in San Antonio, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology explores the concept of antifragility among low-income U.S. veterans. Tsai defines antifragility as an idea that goes far beyond resilience.
“Antifragility is growing through the act of welcoming and overcoming challenges and adversity,” Tsai said. “The welcoming is the important part because it is much more than just withstanding adversity.”
The study, conducted in 2022–2023, used a nationally representative survey of 783 veterans to develop a new measure of antifragility. Tsai and his colleagues created a 12-item scale to measure three key aspects of antifragility:
- Benefitting from difficulty, which means growing stronger through direct challenges.
- Benefitting from ambiguity, which involves thriving in uncertain or unclear situations.
- Benefitting from stress, which requires adapting and improving under pressure.
The study found that approximately 60-62% of respondents reported antifragility in family and social relationships, but just 2–4% said they felt antifragile frequently or all the time.
While the findings show that achieving antifragility is possible, it also revealed that high levels of antifragility were relatively rare, even among veterans who may have experienced more opportunities to develop antifragility. But Tsai believes antifragility is possible for everyone, not just individuals who experience unusually difficult circumstances.
"This concept is independent of trauma, and theoretically everybody can be antifragile regardless of any previous trauma exposure," Tsai said.
Even though the research suggests that antifragility in its highest forms is elusive, Tsai believes that developing this ability is important for humans.
"Being antifragile can help us become more adaptive and evolutionarily fit," Tsai said. "We live in an ever-changing world, and being antifragile helps humans prepare to thrive from these changes."
Now that he has developed measures of antifragility, Tsai is eager to pursue further research in this emerging field.
"There’s an open question whether being antifragile is more of a personality trait or if it’s something one can train for or learn to be for specific circumstances,” Tsai said. “I’d like to study how people can learn to be more antifragile over time, and in what situations."
Read more about the study here.