Resilience Theory: A Literature Review with special chapters on deployment resilience in military families & resilience theory in social work
by Adrian DuPlessis VanBreda October 2001
RESILIENCE THEORY: A LITERATURE REVIEW
Author: Title: Date: Report No: Institution:
Adrian DuPlessis VanBreda Resilience Theory: A Literature Review October 2001 MPI/R/104/12/1/4, dd October 2001 South African Military Health Service, Military Psychological Institute, Social Work Research & Development
City: E-mail: Address:
Pretoria, South Africa Adrian@vanbreda.org Major A.D. Van Breda Military Psychological Institute Private Bag X02 Gezina 0031 South Africa
Resilience Theory: A Literature Review
Page i
CHAPTER TWO: INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE
2.1
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“Being able to selectively disengage from the home and engage with those outside, and then to reengage. “Being internally oriented and having an internal locus of control. “The absence of serious illness during adolescence.” The capacity of an individual to cope during difficulty is central to their resilience. Pearlin and Schooler (1982, p. 109) define coping as “the thing that people do to avoid being harmed by lifestrain.” These authors conducted 2300 interviews in the urbanized Chicago area and through content analysis of these interviews identified three main types of coping that serve distinct functions, viz: “Responses that change the situation out of which strainful experience arises” (Pearlin & Schooler, 1982, p. 115). Interestingly, their research found that this type of coping was not widely used. Several reasons are offered to explain this. Page 6 Resilience Theory: A Literature Review
People must first recognize the situation which is causing the stress; something which is not always possible. directly. efforts. It is interesting to note that much of resilience theory and research has revolved around situations which are impervious to change efforts, such as being in a concentration camp, having a terminal illness, being in a war, growing up in poverty, etc. In such circumstances, little can be done to directly change the situation causing the stress. Rather, other forms of coping are required. “Responses that
Here is my personal story about resilience. When my dad left my mom she had it hard,we had it hard she worked more and we never saw her that much. She was depressed she never ate and she never looked happy. She saw that we were upset and said “ even though it’s rough now we will bounce back don't let this situation stress you and I didn't. And that day my mom changed,we changed we were happier we went out more.
This week are discussing the ever so important topic of resiliency. This concept plays a huge role in the lives of so many individuals and is constantly preached to soldiers within the Army. Every unit has a Master Resiliency Trainer (MRT) assigned at every echelon. These individuals are specifically trained to teach individuals how to take care of themselves, and others, in very difficult times. These difficult times can be either military related or from their personal lives.
In the article “Bouncing Back” by Melissa Balmain; she writes about different people’s hardships and how they learned to be resilient because of their tenacious experiences. Balmain recounts Jennifer Loredo, a master sergeant in the army who was serving in Afghanistan with her husband when a roadside bomb left her without a husband and raising two kids on her own. Moreover Balmain mentions how
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.
On the other hand some factors work against one’s resiliency such as an absence of a parent, violence, and abuse. Being resilient is an ability learned throughout a person’s life and experiences. It cannot be taught but must be
Over decades, the research of resilience has developed from understanding individual’s resilience qualities and protective factors, to the process of resilience and the interventions that promote resilience (Richardson, 2002; Wright et al., 2013). Recently, the focus of resilience shift to the neurobiological process because of the development of science and technology (Wright et al., 2013). While these literatures emerging, there are two noteworthy issues. First, the outcome of the studies were mainly emphasized on main-stream population (Ungar, 2006). Second, little attention was given to resilience across cultures (Ungar, 2006; Ungar et al., 2005). Hence, it is important to investigate how resilience is being defined and understand in different cultures; what are the challenges when conducting a cross cultural research; and what are the key elements when implementing intervention in different cultures.
Resilience is the ability to adapt well to adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats and sources of stress. In terms of children, it is how well a child copes with events that happen in their lives such as starting or changing schools, illness or death of a close relative. These events cannot be prevented but can be overcome. Being resilient does not mean that children won't experience difficulty or distress; however child practitioners can help children to manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty and overcome difficulties.
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
Resilience reflects the ability of someone to maintain a stable equilibrium(1), that is to retain a sense of identity or self(2), when dealing with adversity or misfortune. Highly resilient individuals are capable of coping with unexpected challenges, and may have a number of mechanisms or strategies to help them do so. Resilience is an aspect of health that is becoming increasingly recognised in medicine(3), as having resilience enables self-care and self-healing, which is beneficial in multiple ways. By being actively involved in his or her own wellbeing, a patient is likely to have better outcomes(3). In addition, healthcare resources are conserved, allowing them to be used to help a patient with less resilience. Although the importance of resilience in carers of the ill cannot be understated, in this essay I will primarily focus on resilience in patients approaching end of life, as there is a great deal for them to go through, all the way from diagnosis to death. The concept of resilience itself is something we are all familiar with in one way or another. I experienced seeing resilience being tested firsthand from watching my parents deal with my father’s cancer diagnosis, treatment and eventual passing all in the span of just over a year. On one of my GP home visits I was quite affected by talking to Mr A, an elderly man with COPD who was living with his wife, who had dementia. I will look at the
Military Resilience Building Programs. Each of the military services have executed resilience building programs to train service members how to react and cope with highly demanding and stressful situations, so they can still perform their military mission uninterrupted. The military’s attention to resilience as a trait of personal strength may in reality serve to stop personnel from reporting sexual assault, as they don’t want to be perceived as being weak and unable to solve their own problems. (Castro 2015)
Coping plays a significant role in our lives as the people and the environment surrounding us are constantly
The resilience methodology seeks to build on strengths and strengthen the supports and opportunities of the child. Resilience plays a vital role in assisting a child in settling into a new placement, without experiencing major emotional difficulties. Three factors that promote resilience are secure base, Self-esteem and Self-efficacy(Grotberg, 2000). These can be influenced by positive experiences on a daily basis, some which will be highlighted throughout the assignment.
First of all, I would like to define what resilience is. Major scholars believe it is the process to recover from trauma, or the ability to respond to adversity. According to Sergeant and Laws-Chapman (2012), resilience refers to “the ability to adapt to adverse conditions while maintaining a sense of purpose, balance, and positive mental and
This essay discusses coping, a complex process exercised by people to suppress, change, or eliminate stress or threat. This essay also discusses copers, that is, people who exhibit certain personality characteristics, known as distress resistant personality patterns, which can significantly influence whether they stay healthy or become ill. Also covered are coping strategies, -strategies people draw upon to solve life’s stressors, some