Resilience

Resilience is a slippery term and is used in different ways by different people. Sometimes it is defined as an outcome, as in Fonagy’s frequently quoted definition: ‘normal development under difficult conditions’(1994). This definition, of course, begs a number of questions, not least what is ‘normal’.

Gilligan (1997) gives a definition that begins to address resilience as a process:
'... qualities which cushion a vulnerable child from the worst effects of adversity in whatever form it takes and which may help a child or young person to cope, survive and even thrive in the face of great hurt and disadvantage’. (Gilligan, 1997, p.l2)

For residential child care staff and social workers, the key word in this definition is ‘thrive’. It provides practitioners with the aim of aspiring to assist young people to achieve their full potential despite their circumstances.

Masten et al. (1990) focus on resilience as ‘the process of, capacity for, or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenging or threatening circumstances’. Here it is an adaptive quality that is highlighted, as Schofield (2001) suggests, resilient people have both an internal and external adaptive quality. For example if a young person has a failure at school he or she can reflect upon that internally and see it as a temporary set-back and can also seek external support, for example by asking a teacher for help with the next essay. It is this adaptive quality that appears to be an essential aspect of resilience. Resilient people, therefore, are those whose mental well-being is far better than might have been predicted given the adversities that they have encountered.

Resilience is not simply an absence of psychological symptoms despite having experienced adversity, it is the possession of a positive adaptive ability that enables a person to feel competent despite risky living conditions (Sagy and Dotan, 2001).

In summary, therefore, as stated in a recent comprehensive review of resilience as a concept for practice:
‘Resilient children are better equipped to resist stress and adversity, cope with change and uncertainty, and to recover faster and more completely from traumatic events or episodes’. (Newman and Blackburn, 2002, p. 12)

Resilience is the ability to know where, how and when to use your energies to improve things for yourself and how to recruit help in that endeavour.


BRIGID DANIEL
Daniel, B. The Value of Resilience as a Concept for Practice in Residential Settings. Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care, February/March 2003
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