Socio-Psychological Resiliency In Adults

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

Resilience, when asked to define and explain the act of being resilient, can be a hard thing to describe. It is something everyone must be at one point in their lives, and what some people must be every day. There are different levels to it, depending on what the person is going through at the time. However, resilience is commonly described as just staying strong in a tough situation or time in a person’s life. When something goes wrong, or something bad happens, the person affected doesn’t let it break them. They stand strong against whatever is being thrown at them, but they bend when they need to. Someone who is resilient is flexible, making sure they don’t crack under pressure. As Robert Jordan said in The Fires of Heaven, “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.”

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.

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.

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

“Resilience: The Biology of Stress and Science of Hope” (2016), is a documentary corelating adverse childhood events (ACE) and chronic medical condition like heart disease and diabetes (Resilience trailer, 2016). Childhood trauma and toxic stress changes a person physically and emotionally (Lee, 2016). On November 29, 2017, I had the pleasure of attending a showing of the film ‘Resilience’ and the panel discussion which followed. The panel consisted of five community leaders discussing the impact of ACEs and the work being done to address the problem. The panel included: Joan Caley MS, ARNP-CNS, CNL, NEA, BC of ACES Action Coalition, Jill McGillis of Clark County Juvenile Justice, Michelle Welton outreach manager for Catholic Charities Refugee Services Program Support, Jonathan Weedman CCTP, LPC the director of operations population health partnerships for Care Oregon, and Sandy Mathenson EdD director of social –emotional learning for Battle Ground Public Schools. The speakers received about fifteen minutes to discuss their respective work and agencies. In this brief review, I will summarize the discussion and deliberate the effectiveness of the presentation method.

For some people the strong word resilience can impact one’s life in a significant way. Overall, resiliency is having the ability to still enjoy and continue your life with positive, good times, regardless of a hard past or bad experience. It can be shown in various ways throughout a text, including the setting, the plot, and characterization. This is how the texts, The Other Wes Moore, The Art of Resilience, and The Third and Final Continent share their common theme. This theme the three texts convey is that resiliency is vital for a positive as well as successful life.

Resilience is the power or the ability to return to the original form. “Resilience is born by grounding yourself in your own loveliness, hitting notes you thought were way out of your range” (94). Father Gregory Boyle says this because he knows that resilience is needed in order to change. Resilience is important because we can become better people by doing things, we thought we couldn’t do. In the book, Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion, by Father Gregory Boyle, resilience is essential in our lives because it is the key to do better.

Resilience is the power or the ability to return to the original form. “Resilience is born by grounding yourself in your own loveliness, hitting notes you thought were way out of your range” (94). Father Gregory Boyle says this because he knows that resilience is needed in order to change. Resilience is important because we can become better people by doing things, we thought we couldn’t do. In the book, Tattoos on the Heart, The Power of Boundless Compassion, Boyle claims resilience is essential in our lives because it is the key to do better.

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 defined as, “the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens” (Merriam Webster par 1). Resilience is shown when people use their strength when dealing with adversity. When people are experiencing negative circumstances resilience may lead to positive outcomes (PBS Par 1).

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

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.

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