Mapping the Resilience Field: A Systemic Approach

Pathways to resilience and pathways to flourishing: Examining the added-value of multisystem research and intervention in contexts of war and forced displacement

“…This helps to build "a model of research that firmly embeds implementation science within the fabric of an intervention study" (Betancourt & Fazel, 2018:542). Thus in conflict settings, strong arguments have been made for implementing research-led interventions that address both risk and resilience in child development (Masten & Narayan, 2012), both human misery and human dignity , both recovery and transformation and both systems-based resilience and transitional justice (Ungar, 2021).…”

“…What is useful and truly innovative about systems-level work in the context of insecurity, precarity, violence, or crisis? As Ungar et al (2023:3) have written, multisystemic approaches examine the “dynamic interactions within and between systems,” namely their interdependency. Multisystemic approaches track changes in resource flow for understanding dynamic change across society, linking individual-level outcomes to macro-level social and economic structures over time.…”

Psychological resilience: Connecting contemporary psychology to ancient practical philosophy

“…In recent years, several scholars have argued that resilience is also demonstrated in the context of the quotidian challenges of everyday life (Davis et al, 2009), or circumstances typically considered positive, such as marriage, getting a promotion, or competing in elite-level sport (Fletcher & Sarkar, 2012, 2013). However, the conviction that resilience relates to doing well in the context of significant adversity remains a central point of connection that runs throughout almost all definitions of the phenomenon (Denckla et al, 2020; Luthar et al, 2000; Ungar, 2021; Windle, 2011). As such, it has been suggested that resilience is perhaps best thought of as something demonstrated most clearly in the context of significant adversity, but also evidenced simply in the process of living and navigating one’s way through the inevitable ups and downs of life (Denckla et al, 2020).…”

“…In seeking to understand what enables some people to succeed and even to thrive in the face of challenge, resilience has been described both in terms of an individual trait or characteristic (Connor & Davidson, 2003; Wagnild & Young, 1993) and a process or set of processes (Luthar et al, 2000; Masten, 2001). More recently, multisystems perspectives on resilience have become prominent (Masten et al, 2021; Ungar, 2021), emphasising the way that resilience reflects the interrelations of multiple systems, co-acting and interacting to shape the extent to which a system or organism is able to cope with, bounce back from, or thrive in the face of challenge (Ungar, 2021). On this perspective, an individual’s ability to continue or succeed in the face of difficulties depends not only on their individual attributes, but on the interactions between the individual themselves and the many systems (family, social structure, employment setting, form of government, etc.)…”

“…With the exception of the Epicureans—for whom friendship was described as the primary means through which one protects one’s happiness (Laërtius, 1925, Principal Doctrines , 27)—all the philosophical schools discussed here maintained that one could learn through philosophy to be entirely dependent on oneself for a well-lived life of happiness. As noted above, however, a large body of psychological research has demonstrated convincingly that the emotional and social support of friends or family act as significant buffers against hardship (Masten et al, 2009; Werner & Smith, 1992) and that the interplay between multiple systems effects the resilience of an individual (Ungar, 2021). Such research similarly discredits the Cynics’ claims that the effects of civilisation have reduced our capacity to withstand adverse circumstances, through the demonstration of the significance of effective schools, employment, and strong community on resilience over the lifespan (Werner & Smith, 1992).…”