Introduction: A second generation of resilience research

Abstract

The history of psychological theories illustrates a pattern of the building and testing of grand theories of the early twentieth century, such as behaviorism and Piaget's genetic epistemology, giving way to the smorgasbord of minitheories encompassed in the information processing model. Medicine has followed a similar pattern, with the general practitioner of the early twentieth century having virtually been replaced with a myriad of specialists we are able to consult with today.The early theorists who studied and wrote about resilience described it as a domain general trait developed across contexts and exhibited as a reasonably stable characteristic. The overall contribution of this special series is to add to a conversation about resilience as a multidimensional characteristic, begging the question of how resilience differs by context, time, age, gender, and cultural background. The domains from which these articles have come-nursing, special education, adult victims of abuse, infancy, and school administration-represent a second generation of voices in the growing interest in resilience. As with all second generations, these authors have drawn significantly from the foundation of the first generation. To those who opened the field, we are indebted.Patterson's Understanding Family Resilience (2002) makes significant contributions to our understanding of resilience in the public health arena. Using families as the unit of analysis, Patterson explains the importance of family appraisals and the ways in which they affect the trajectory of resilience. Patterson clarifies confusing terminology, such as distinguishing between life risk that leads to family strength approaches and resilience that operates despite significant risk. One way in which the second generation of research on resilience will contribute is in the policy arena, and Patterson's potential policy applications is another strength of her article.Rak (2002) is based on work with a unique sample of individuals who were abused as children but have spontaneously, without intervention, become nonabusive parents. Wilkes characterizes resilience as an exemplar of conceptual change and draws from the cognitive psychology literature on the nature of conceptual change and its prerequisites. Another of Wilkes' contributions is the investigation into the nature of locus of control in adults who were abused, and the suggestion that the dichotomy between internal and external loci is not sufficient to explain the difference in this population between events that are within a person's control and those that are outside a person's control. Additional contributions of Wilkes' study are the identification of several areas needing further study including birth order effects, the belief systems of the abusers, and the nature of positive and negative coping behaviors in resilient individuals.Morrison, Robertson, Laurie, and Kelly's Protective Factors and Antisocial Behaviors (2002) discusses resilience as a trajectory which is dynamic, not static. Morrison suggests tha...

Six attributes of social resilience

“…Holling 1973Holling , 1996Holling , 2001Gunderson, Holling, and Light 1995;Carpenter et al 2001;Holling, Gunderson, and Peterson 2002;Janssen 2002;Westley 2002;Walker et al 2004) and second, from the social and health sciences pertaining to the resilience of individuals and communities (e.g. Richardson 2002;Wilkes 2002;Heavyrunner and Marshall 2003;Kulig, Edge, and Guernsey 2005;Lalonde 2006;Manyena 2006;Hegney et al 2007;Maguire and Hagan 2007;Sapountzaki 2007;Buikstra et al 2010). Although these two broad areas of research approach social resilience somewhat differently, they both provide useful information relating to the capacity of communities and individuals to cope with change (Brown and Westaway 2011).…”

Resilience Model Among Individuals with Learning Disabilities: Proximal and Distal Influences

“…The central role of the research is to identify the complex transactions and processes among internal and external (risk and protective) factors that affect children's resilience. If resilience is to be treated as a process that is found in varying degrees at various times of our lives, and if resilience can be promoted in a variety of ways, considering the most effective match between individual and environmental risk and support processes (Wilkes, 2002), then Wong's article should be treated as a significant step toward this different view of the developmental paths of adaptation among children with learning disabilities.…”

“…Resilience has often been defined as a general personality trait, developed across contexts and manifested as a stable characteristic. An alternative ecologically-based approach emerged through recent research trends (Wilkes, 2002). To clarify the developmental perspective of resiliency within the conceptualization of learning disabilities, it must be examined in the framework of the three resiliency waves (Richardson, 2002).…”

La place de la résilience familiale lors d’un suicide à l’adolescence

“…Les premiers auteurs ont davantage tenté de définir les caracté-ristiques à l'origine de la résilience chez un individu, c'est-à-dire les qualités de la personne résiliente. Cette vision de la résilience fait davantage référence à un élément stable de l'individu, donc à un trait de personnalité (Anaut, 2003 ;Richardson, 2002 ;Wilkes, 2002 ;Luthar et al, 2000). Par la suite, les auteurs se sont davantage intéressés au processus par lequel l'individu parvient à acquérir les qualités associées à la résilience (Anaut, 2005 ;Richardson, 2002 ;Wilkes, 2002).…”

“…Cette vision de la résilience fait davantage référence à un élément stable de l'individu, donc à un trait de personnalité (Anaut, 2003 ;Richardson, 2002 ;Wilkes, 2002 ;Luthar et al, 2000). Par la suite, les auteurs se sont davantage intéressés au processus par lequel l'individu parvient à acquérir les qualités associées à la résilience (Anaut, 2005 ;Richardson, 2002 ;Wilkes, 2002). Dans cette deuxième vague d'écrits, la résilience est envisagée davantage comme un concept dynamique qui évolue dans le temps et en fonction des événements.…”