Resilience in human development is defined in relation to positive adaptation in the context of significant adversity, emphasizing a developmental systems approach. A brief history and glossary on the central concepts of resilience research in developmental science are provided, and the fundamental models and strategies guiding the research are described. Major findings of the first four decades of research are summarized in terms of protective and promotive factors consistently associated with resilience in diverse situations and populations of young people. These factors—such as self-regulation skills, good parenting, community resources, and effective schools—suggest that resilience arises from ordinary protective processes, common but powerful, that protect human development under diverse conditions. The greatest threats posed to children may be adversities that damage or undermine these basic human protective systems. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed, highlighting three strategies of fostering resilience, focused on reducing risk, building strengths or assets, and mobilizing adaptive systems that protect and restore positive human development. The concluding section outlines future directions of resilience research and its applications, including rapidly growing efforts to integrate research and prevention efforts across disciplines, from genetics to ecology, and across level of analysis, from molecules to media.

Many measures deemed "well-established" in the general population are proving to be reliable and useful in pediatric samples. More evidence of the validity of family measures is needed in this context. This review should prove helpful to clinicians and researchers as they strive to make evidence-based decisions regarding family measures.

Longitudinal growth trajectories of reading and math achievement were studied in four primary school grade cohorts (GCs) of a large urban district to examine academic risk and resilience in homeless and highly mobile (H/HM) students. Initial achievement was assessed when student cohorts were in the second, third, fourth, and fifth grades, and again 12 and 18 months later. Achievement trajectories of H/HM students were compared to low-income but nonmobile students and all other tested students in the district, controlling for four well-established covariates of achievement: sex, ethnicity, attendance, and English language skills. Both disadvantaged groups showed markedly lower initial achievement than their more advantaged peers, and H/HM students manifested the greatest risk, consistent with an expected risk gradient. Moreover, in some GCs, both disadvantaged groups showed slower growth than their relatively advantaged peers. Closer examination of H/HM student trajectories in relation to national test norms revealed striking variability, including cases of academic resilience as well as problems. H/HM students may represent a major component of "achievement gaps" in urban districts, but these students also constitute a heterogeneous group of children likely to have markedly diverse educational needs. Efforts to close gaps or enhance achievement in H/HM children require more differentiated knowledge of vulnerability and protective processes that may shape individual development and achievement.

Analyses examined academic achievement data across 3rd through 8th grades (N = 26,474), comparing students identified as homeless or highly mobile (HHM) to other students in the federal free meal program (FM), reduced-price meals (RM), or neither (General). Achievement was lower as a function of rising risk status (General > RM > FM > HHM). Achievement gaps appeared stable or widened between HHM students and lower-risk groups. Math and reading achievement were lower and growth in math was slower in years of HHM identification, suggesting acute consequences of residential instability. Nonetheless, 45% of HHM students scored within or above the average range, suggesting academic resilience. Results underscore the need for research on risk and resilience processes among HHM students to address achievement disparities.

The authors examined the role of executive function (EF) skills as a predictor of kindergarten or first-grade adjustment in 138 children living in shelters for homeless families. During the summer, children completed a battery of six EF tasks and three IQ measures. Teachers later rated children’s school adjustment in five domains of achievement and social conduct. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct validity of EF as distinct from the general factor in IQ tests. The differential predictive validity of EF scores for school adjustment was tested by hierarchical regression analysis in relation to IQ. Results supported the hypothesis that EF has unique predictive significance for homeless children. Findings also corroborate the feasibility and validity of EF assessments in community settings and contribute to growing evidence that EF skills are important for school success. Implications are discussed for addressing educational disparities for homeless and highly mobile children.

This investigation tested the importance of early academic achievement for later achievement trajectories among 18,011 students grouped by level of socioeconomic risk. Students considered to be at highest risk were those who experienced homelessness or high residential mobility (HHM). HHM students were compared with students eligible for free meals, students eligible for reduced price meals, and students who were neither HHM nor low income.Socioeconomic risk and oral reading ability in first grade predicted growth of reading and math achievement in Grades 3 through 8.Risk status predicted achievement beyond the effects of early reading scores and also moderated the prediction of later growth in reading achievement from early oral reading. Results underscore the early emergence and persistence of achievement gaps related to poverty, the high and accumulating risk for HHM students, and the significance of oral reading in first grade as both an early indicator of risk and a potential protective factor.

Four decades of research on resilience in young people provide compelling data and models for applications in the school context. Resilience theory and findings are highly congruent with Strengths-Based School Counseling (SBSC) as formulated by Galassi and Akos (2007). In this article, resilience is defined in relation to competence in developmental tasks and risks to positive development, with reference to key promotive and protective roles of schools and school personnel. Implications of a resilience framework for schools are delineated, including positive approaches to mission statements, models of change, measuring positive progress, and mobilizing powerful systems for changing the direction of human development. New horizons of research on resilience are described, along with the potential of integrating SBSC and resilience-based frameworks in transformative efforts to promote the successful development of young people.

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