Ultimately, the purpose of this paper is not so much to challenge the view that diathesis–stress phenomena exist or that processes related to them operate. That seems indisputable. However, it is to contend—and illustrate empirically—that in many cases, wherein this may seem to be so, something different may be occurring, yet go virtually unnoticed as a result of expectations derived from the prevailing conceptual perspective, which guides both inquiry and interpretation of findings. Indeed, a central claim of this paper is that the disproportionate attention paid to the negative effects of contextual adversity, broadly defined and varied in its operationalization, on the problematic functioning and on disturbances in development and mental health, may actually lead scholars to mischaracterize environmental influences, as well as human development processes and phenomena. And this is because, as stipulated by the differential-susceptibility hypothesis,11, 12, 13, 14 ‘the very same individuals who may be most adversely affected by many kinds of stressors, may simultaneously reap the most benefit from environmental support and enrichment (including the absence of adversity)'.
