Renae McNair, our resident Health Psychologist, talks this month about one of her favorite topics - resilience! If you enjoy this post, please join us for a workshop on March 15, 7-7:30pm EST, in which Renae and Laura will talk about strategies for fostering resilience. Sign-ups are here.
It’s no surprise that life can be challenging, presenting unexpected surprises, both positive and negative. The ability to adapt and adjust to meet unexpected life challenges, or stressors, is a determinant for optimum psychological functioning. Adaptation is one’s ability or inability to change in response to life circumstances. In our practice, we’ve found that resilience is a major determinant of people’s sense of well-being, across a broad range of life circumstances.
defining resilience
Resilience, is the ability to adjust or adapt effectively and positively to unfavorable life conditions or events (Arrebola-Moreno, Retamero, Catena, Marfil-Alvarez, Melgares-Moreno, & Ramirez-Herandez, 2014; Campbell-Sills, Cohan, & Stein, 2006). Celik, Cetin and Tutkun (2014, p.839) describe resilience as an adaptive trait that functions as a protective factor when one faces difficulty.
Individuals who are resilient possess adaptive coping mechanisms that allow them to problem-solve and modify existing behavior to meet the expectations related to the change in life circumstances introduced by obstacles or life impediments, such as the death of a loved one, loss of a job, health diagnosis, or other traumatic events. Haddadi and Ali Besharat’s (2010) definition of resilience includes both “constitutional variables such as temperament and personality” and also “specific skills for problem-solving.”
The ability to successfully adapt to challenges is linked to an individual’s level of resilience.
So resilience acts as a protective factor in life, allowing those who face adversity to successfully adapt and cope. And research maintains that individuals who exhibit higher levels of resilience will recover and seek means to adjust to changing life circumstances to ensure the best possible outcome in their lives. How, then, do we build this critical skill?
sources of resilience
There are various sources of resilience, including personal (internal), as well as environmental (external), factors that serve as sources for resilience in individuals.
Internal factors include traits like self-worth, self-efficacy, an internal locus of control and self-confidence. These internal traits serve to promote recovery from adverse circumstances. The combination of the internal factors creates a framework for promoting higher levels of adaptation and resilience.
External sources of resilience, those supports outside of ourselves, can also create a framework for supporting adaptation and resilience. People who have a helpful and understanding social network of friends and family, or other sources of community support tend to exhibit higher levels of resilience than individuals who do not have a supportive group or environment.
building resilience
Here is the good news: if an individual does not possess all the internal traits associated with resilience, these traits can be learned or improved upon. We can help you develop higher levels of resilience by cultivating an internal locus of control, improved self-efficacy, and self-confidence. Refining these traits will eventually lead to higher levels of subjective well-being and greater life satisfaction. Likewise, being intentional in building supportive connections with others grows one’s external sources of resilience. Focusing on resilience-building as a strength that can be learned will help you navigate life’s challenges with a clearer insight and a sense that you can get through tough events and still have a positive life.
further reading
Arrebola-A. L., Garcia-Retamero, R., Catena, A. Melgares-Moreno, R., & Ramirez-Hernandez (2014). On the protective effect of resilience in patients with acute coronary syndrome. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 14, 111-119.
Celik, D. A., Cetin, F., & Tutkun, E. (2014). The role of proximal and distal resilience factors and locus of control in understanding hope, self-esteem, and academic achievement among Turkish pre-adolescents. Current Psychology, 1-34. doi: 10.1007/s12144-014-9260-3
Haddadi, P. & Besharat, M. A. (2010). Resilience, vulnerably, and mental health. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 639-642. doi: 10.1016./jsbspro.2010.07157
