Relationship Between Subjective Stress Resilience and Performance Under Task-Induced Stress: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

In high-stress environments, understanding how individuals sustain performance is critical for understanding resilience and well-being. This exploratory study examined the relationship between subjective stress resilience and performance during a computer-based task simulating acute operational stress, following a modified Resting–Reactivity–Recovery cycle. Thirty-seven participants completed tasks under varying cognitive demands, while subjective resilience was assessed using the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and performance was quantified through Overall Deviation (OD) from optimal task parameters. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed weak, non-significant negative associations between CD-RISC scores and OD across all task phases. These findings suggest a potential link between higher self-reported resilience and better performance recovery under stress, although variability and sample size limitations precluded statistical significance. This study provides preliminary insight into integrating subjective and objective resilience measures in dynamic task environments and highlights the need for further research with larger samples to validate and extend these findings.