Resilience (psychological)

Assessment | Biopsychology | Comparative | Cognitive | Developmental | Language | Individual differences | Personality | Philosophy | Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |

Clinical: Approaches · Group therapy · Techniques · Types of problem · Areas of specialism · Taxonomies · Therapeutic issues · Modes of delivery · Model translation project · Personal experiences ·

---

Resilience is a commonly used concept in psychology (such as in child development, adolescent development, psychopathology, and positive psychology) to describe the positive capacity of people to cope with stress and catastrophe. It is also used to indicate a characteristic of resistance to future negative events. In this sense "resilience" corresponds to cumulative "protective factors" and is used in opposition to cumulative "risk factors". The phrase risk and resilience in this area of study is quite common. Commonly used terms, which are essentially synonymous within psychology are resilience, psychological resilience, emotional resilience, hardiness, and resourcefulness.

Resilient people face and manage positive and negative life events. They persist in the face of obstacles and where necessary accept when change is not possible

People differ in their resilience: Some never develop it, others do not recognise it in themselves and so lack the confidence to take on challenges they could actually manage, while others who have it may experience losing it under the pressures of chronic stress.

Padesky & Mooney have developed a 4-step model for identifying, building and strengthening resilience

Main article: Padesky & Mooney's model of resilience

Resilience and adolescence

During the 1990's, enhancing resilience, for example through social support and stress inoculation programs such as outdoor education, became an increasingly sought goal of community intervention efforts.

Main article: Resilience and adolescence

See also

• Al Siebert
• Coping
• Emmy Werner
• Learned optimism
• Positive psychology
• Resilience
• Risk
• Self-confidence
• Self (psychology)
• Stress management

Key texts

Books

Schoon, Ingrid (2006) Risk and Resilience: Adaptations in Changing Times. Cambridge:CUP. ISBN 0521541565

Papers

• Davis, N. J. (1999). Resilience: Status of the research and research-based programs . Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services. [www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/schoolviolence/5-28resilience.asp Full text]
• Bonanno, G.A., Moskowitz, J. T., Papa, A., & Folkman, S. (2005). Resilience to loss in bereaved spouses, bereaved parents, and bereaved gay men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(5): 827-43.

Additional material

Papers

• Google Scholar

External links

• National Resilence Resource Center, University of Minnesota