Resilience Across Lifespan

Resilience is the ability for the individual to cope with the disorder and recover from exposure to traumatic events. Many factors such as strong connection and support from one’s own social domain (family and friends), individual’s

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.

Throughout the years, several adults have been affected by traumatic events that have taken place during their childhood(s). Lenore C. Terr (January, 1999) states, "Childhood trauma appears to be a critical etiological factor in the development of a number of serious disorders both in childhood and in adulthood." To better understand childhood trauma, Terr defines this as, the "mental result of one sudden, external or a series of blows, rendering the young person temporarily helpless and breaking past ordinary coping and defense operations" (January, 1999). The statistics of childhood trauma is alarming. In the United States, there are approximately five million children that experience trauma each year, with two million of these cases

In the article, “How Kids Learn Resilience,” author Paul Tough introduces a staggering new statistic that 51 percent of public-school students in the United States fall below the federal government’s low-income cutoff (Tough, 2016). This shocking statistic to get our attention and address an even bigger problem involving the challenges of teaching low-income children. Before writing this article, Paul Tough wrote a book called, How Children Succeed. This book was written in 2012 and explored the benefits of teaching children non-cognitive skills. He talks about the success of his book and how schools across the country have been embracing the notion that educators should be teaching grit and self-control. However, while educators agree with

Resilience is about how an individual deals, resists, recovers and learns from adversity’s in life. If a child is resilient they are less likely to be damaged as a result of negative experiences and are more likely to learn from and move on. In order for a child to be resilient they need to believe in themselves and have others they can rely on in their lives.

There are varieties of definitions in regards with resilience based on different perspectives (Arrington et al., 2000). For instance, from a developmental perspective, resilience can be defined as positive and successful outcomes despite challenging situations (Masten, 2007; Windle, 2010). Resilience can also be defined as recovery to normal functioning from adversity or coping well under currently risk conditions (Masten, 2007; Windle, 2010). However, not every language has the word “resilience”. For example, a phrase, “the ability to cope with adversity” (Ungar et al.,

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

Elderly people physically slow down and have lower energy levels. There are changes in the body systems and organs that can usually result in all types of

Life span developmental psychology takes a scientific approach to human growth and change, focusing on change during the life span. There are three main aspects to life span development: cognitive, social, and physical development. This class is not simply a discussion of nature vs. nurture, it explores the interaction between genetic and environmental factors that orient us towards specific behaviors. Initially, my views on life span development were limited to more sociological factors, and did not take into consideration physical developments of the brain. In relation to my personal and professional identity this course has made me realize that development occurs on a spectrum and that not everyone develops at the same time, in the same ways, making me more understanding and compassionate towards those who developed differently than me. The three most important lessons I have learned from this class are that development occurs throughout the entire life span, infants begin learning at a very young age, and that senescence begins as early as young adulthood.

There were different theorists that believed that with every behavior comes a reason behind it. These Theories include: Biological, Socio-emotional, and cognitive status. The subject was observed on Saturday 3rd, 2015 at 4 in the afternoon. Genaro Tijerino was born on January 14th, 2012, and he 's an American Hispanic three year old boy. He was born in Miami, Florida, his mother is an ESC Teacher and his father works for an import/export company. The subject has a close relationship with both parents, the family practices catholicism and as a ritual they attend church every Sunday. Both parents communicate with the child in both Spanish and English however he communicates mostly in Spanish. According to the parents, he does not attend a day care or school, he stays at his grandparents’ home and is taken care of by the mother’s aunt. He gets dropped off as early as 7:00a.m. and gets picked up by 6:00p.m. The mother had created a schedule where the child had a routine throughout the day, but the only source of communication the child had was with the mother 's aunt. His mother also mentioned that he does not have any sort of separation anxiety from either parents as they drop him off. The subject is potty- trained and knows how to follow directions. The mother has also stated that she has had complications with her delivery, but the subject was born in a healthy condition and there were no developmental delays observed. Genaro is a social child that is able to verbally

(1) Chapter 15: The resilience of older women. Informal networks and social support (p. 660-663) (2) Description: Older women have unique social networks and social support from male counterparts. (3) Discussion of Enhancement of Understanding: Older women have many different characteristics from older men. The way they build and maintain their social networks and social supports is unique compared to older men.

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.

Resilience in an individual refers to successful adaptation, despite the risk and adversity. The manner in which Matson 2004 defines resilience is very clear to me, as I can relate and reflect this to one particular girl that resided in the care centre I worked. Throughout the young girl's childhood, she developed an insecure and ambivalent attachment to both her parents, as a result of their hectic lifestyle of substance misuse. At a young age her father died from the HIV viruses, which lead her mother in becoming depressed and profoundly dependant on drugs. Due to the mother's dependency, she was unable to respond accordingly to the girls needs, given very mixed and inconsistent responses. At the age of 10, due to extreme neglect, the young girl was removed from her mothers care and entered the care setting. Over the years the young girl had experienced several placement breakdowns, and at 13 was admitted to a residential centre. During this time she felt both a

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