The Status of Family Resilience: Effects of Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural China

Abstract

Family resilience is the capacity of a family to mitigate adversity using its resources, structure, and internal connections. In rural China, where sustainable livelihoods are changing rapidly because of urbanization and migration, it is not clear how family resilience interacts with sustainability of livelihoods. This study of rural Chinese families classifies individual’s perceived family resilience and discusses how sustainable livelihoods influence this classification. A multilevel survey of rural families reveals three categories of perceived resilience in families: perceived optimistic families, perceived cooperative families, and perceived pessimistic families. Sustainable livelihoods, including natural, social, financial, and human capitals, have significant impacts on this classification of perceived family resilience. We conclude that rural families in China vary in their levels of family resilience, and the more physical and financial capital they have, the more internal cooperation there is within families. The more natural and traditional social capital families have, the less internal cooperation there is within families. The more human resources families have, the more resilience they have.

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“…Those components were also congruent with components of the organizational pattern by Walsh (2003). In addition, research done by Yang, Feldman, Li (2021) found that people from cooperative families can acquire family resilience by frequent cooperation. The organizational pattern consists of three subcomponents: flexibility, connectedness, & social and economic resources.…”

The dyadic care experiences of elderly individuals with disabilities and caregivers in the home setting from the perspective of family resilience: A qualitative study

“…Families have large social networks, and the more resources to which they have access, the stronger their resilience and the more easily they can adjust the family model and division of labor flexibly to suit the situation and allow the family to adapt to adversity ( 39 ). In the current situation of three-generation families in China, the supportive dual nurturing-feedback model dynamically shifts the focus of the family intergenerational relationship structure in a timely manner, which can help families cope with the dilemmas involved in care ( 39 ). Specifically, family resilience can be enhanced by changing roles within the family, altering lifestyles, adjusting needs and enhancing family care abilities ( 31 , 40 ).…”

Spatio-Temporal Variation and Decomposition Analysis of Livelihood Resilience of Rural Residents in China

“…Capital was decomposed into financial capital, human capital, social capital, physical capital, and natural capital. This type of livelihood construction focuses more on the material value of capital [ 3 , 35 ], arguing that livelihood strategies and levels of well-being are heavily influenced by various levels of and access to livelihood capital [ 1 , 36 ]. Among them, for rural residents, social capital is more effective in coping with external changes in rural network relations [ 37 ].…”

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