Individual and Collective Dimensions of Resilience Within Political Violence

Abstract

Research has documented a link between political violence and the functioning of individuals and communities. Yet, despite the hardships that political violence creates, evidence suggests remarkable fortitude and resilience within both individuals and communities. Individual characteristics that appear to build resilience against political violence include demographic factors such as gender and age, and internal resources such as hope, optimism, determination and religious convictions. Research has also documented the protective influence of individuals' connection to community and their involvement in work, school or political action. Additionally, research on political violence and resilience has increasingly focused on communities themselves as a unit of analysis. Community resilience, like individual resilience, is a process supported by various traits, capacities, and emotional orientations towards hardship. This review addresses various findings related to both individual and community resilience within political violence and offers recommendations for research, practice, and policy.2

A systematic review of resilience and mental health outcomes of conflict-driven adult forced migrants

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Building Peace Through Knowledge

“…Relatedly, Sousa et al (2013) have reminded us that political violence targets more than the individual:…”

“…Following this approach, some researchers have examined community resilience, defined as 'positive collective functioning after a mass stressor ' Norris et al (2008, in Sousa et al 2013. Rather than a final outcome, community resilience is considered in the literature to be process-related (Nuwayhid et al 2011, cited in Sousa et al 2013.…”

“…Rather than a final outcome, community resilience is considered in the literature to be process-related (Nuwayhid et al 2011, cited in Sousa et al 2013. Sousa et al (2013) have remarked that the emergent literature on community resilience in the context of political violence signals that it is how resources imbricate, that is, how they function as a network, rather than their raw numbers, that makes or breaks the quality of resilience. Moreover, the traits of optimism, hope, and the capacity to strategize were found to be related to both individual and communal resilience.…”

Demographic Characteristics and Sense of Danger Predicting New Measure of Individual Resilience Following a War

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