New research backs up the old adage that what does not kill you makes you stronger.Scientists looked at longitudinal data from people's life histories, mental health and well-being.They found that while people who encountered al lot of adversity in their lives reported worse mental health and well-being, people who fell on a moderate amount of hard times were better off than those who had either lots of or no adversity.  A small amount of adversity predicted fewer posttraumatic stress incidents and higher life satisfaction overall. (Reported by the December 2010 issue of Monitor on Psychology.)