Reaction Paper : Family Resilience

remote from life as death, but which, unlike death, requires vast service and resources as he witnesses for himself through the care of his mother (207).

The presence grows stronger for the shadowy emanation of a lost twin, until Linda finally meets Linden and things get complicated. Realizing, he is truly the offspring of her birth mother. By his actions along with his words inside of the white hospital room strikes a pain of remembrance being alone, neglected, unwanted, and rejected, which Linda lived through the years of her

One must wonder how a person with Steve’s shocking childhood could grow into a man who is successful, not only in his career but in his personal life as well. Resilience theory is a possible explanation as to why Steve survived, despite the odds that were stacked against him. Resilience theory is a strength based approach which provides a framework that focuses on positive outcomes and not just the negative ones. The idea is that it promotes what works best while de-emphasizing psychopathology. Resilience theory defines resilience and possesses several key terms, which include protective/risk factors. Research on resilience has been valuable in directing attention toward youth who succeed in spite of high levels of stress and economic instability, as it identifies factors that can serve as protective functions which foster competence.

In order to develop resilience children and young people need firm foundations including; Trusting relationships, Structure and rules ,Good role models,

The story brings to the forefront on how parents need to anticipate the family needs and take proactive steps to ensure healthy family dynamics during any stressful or critical situation. A family that has functional dynamics has the ability to offer support, concern and love to each other when a chronic conflict or

Developed by Carter and McGoldrick (1988), the family life cycle views dysfunction in relation to normal functioning, It frames problems within the course of the family as a system moving through time. The individual life cycle takes place within the family life cycle (Carter & McGoldrick, 1988, p. 4). The foundation of the theory assumes that all families go through predictable change precipitated by life events and sometimes-unpredictable events (Azar, 2017b, 6). As these changes are occurring, the family must be able to adapt accordingly in order to avoid dysfunction. This may involve tasks that must be negotiated as they become more complex, and new roles and operations.

What are the short and long-term stressors impinging on this family? What strengths counterbalance these stressors? How is the family reacting to these stressors (identify functional and dysfunctional coping strategies)?

What is the single greatest personal asset that will serve you in realizing these goals?

Resilience, fundamentally, is the ability to bounce back from hardship and the phenomenon of overcoming stress or adversity, for example: personal crises, poverty, mental illness and trauma (Occupational Health & Wellbeing, 2012). This skill can help individuals overcome the most difficult of situations (Occupational Health & Wellbeing, 2012). Resilience theorists generally agree that the presence of protective factors can reduce the effects of exposure to adversity. The more protective factors (or “assets”) available, the more resilient a person will be. Protective factors are conditions or attributes that help people deal more effectively with stressful events and eliminate risk. On the contrary, risk factors are attributes or characteristics

Resilience is a term that is often applied to those who have faced hardship and viewed the experience in a positive light as an opportunity to grow and change for the better (Wagnild & Collins, 2009). The definition however seems to vary from place to place. Ungar et al. (2008) stated “definitions of resilience are ambiguous when viewed across cultures" (p.174) which is why the understanding of resilience may be difficult to capture (as cited in Windle, Bennett & Noyes, 2011). Although the literature agrees on several common themes about resilience there are many varying opinions on how to define the concept or the attributing factors. Earvolino-Ramirez (2007) and

In the novel, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, 17 year-old Mia Hall’s life is changed after she gets into a terrible car accident. Before the accident she had a wonderful family, boyfriend, best friend, and a career ahead of her in music. Mia and her boyfriend were both musicians and they collected records. Although her life wasn't as wonderful as it seemed. Mainly because she felt out of place in her family. She looks different and her family is “cool” when she is not. One day, the family was driving on the snowy road when all of a sudden they crashed. Mia’s whole family is killed except for her, in which she was is in a coma. While in the coma, Mia had many flashbacks remembering the highlights of her life. Throughout the coma Mia felt like

Dr. Murray Bowen, a psychiatrist, offered us the family systems theory. This theory views the family as an emotional unit, further providing a thinking systems approach to describe the complex interactions in the unit. Bowen offered, “A change in one person’s functioning is predictably followed by a reciprocal change in the functioning of others” (Kerr, 2000). If one person within the family unit is having a difficult time, it effects everyone within the family unit. An example of this would be a father who is the primary breadwinner for his family suddenly loosing his job. Prior

The Bowen family systems theory can utilize to understand the Gillison’s family dynamics. According to the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family (2016) the Bowen family system theory views family as an emotional unit that utilizes systems thinking to comprehend the complexity of the interactions within the unit. The theory describes families as having a major influence on their member’s thoughts, feelings and actions, which leads them to feel as if they are composed of the same “emotional skin”. The members of families, according to this theory, are driven by each other’s attention, approval, and support. The members therefore, react to each other’s expectations and wants and needs. The family is therefore interdependent. One change in one member’s function leads to a change in the functioning of the others. This is evidence in the case of the Gillison family.

Vulnerability and resilience among children continues to be a popular topic in research of developmental psychology. The two definitions are closely tied together as they are considered both sides to the spectrum. Schaffer (2006) defines vulnerability and resilience “as the susceptibility to develop malfunctioning following exposure to stressful life events, as opposed to the capacity to maintain competent functioning stress”. If stressful life events are the trigger here, why is it that some children are far more vulnerable, yet others are more resilient? The three studies discussed in this paper will attempt to explain why these differences occur and what can we do to enhance protective factors.

Families and individuals attempting to achieve resilience can be described as subystems of larger systems. According to Hutchison (2013), many systems have boundaries that indicate who is in and who is out (p. 39). The systems idea of boundary is pertinent to the culturally competent resilience model because in many cases boundaries can keep families away from resources that could be employed to help them be resilient. In the same way, in cultures where these boundaries tend to be more open or loose, individuals may be more well-equipped with the skills they need to access resources. Luhmann in his 1987 work on systems theory touches directly on the idea of culture and closed systems proposing that as systems become very complex, they become more and more closed to each other (as cited in Hutchison, 2013, p. 41). Luhamnn posits that with the development of culture and languages within a closed system they become unable to receive feedback from other systems. On the individual level, this could manifest in the inability of an individual or family to fare well unless met with culturally specific interventions which Ungar emphasizes the importance of.