Credit: Robert Ewing, ASU
The graph shows some possible response patterns in adults following adversity. The top line (hashed) shows the response that has been reported as the most common. This flat line indicates that living through an adverse event causes minimal or no disruption to psychological functioning. When the data are analyzed with growth mixture models that are set up using appropriate assumptions, the most common response pattern after adversity is shown by the middle line. The most common response to adversity is a decrease in psychological functioning followed by a return to normal or near-normal after a period of time.