Resilience Research
Biswas-Diener, R. (2021). Resilience: A positive psychology concept that has come of age. Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), 151-157. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2020.1860377.
Resilience is a positive psychology construct that has become ubiquitous in the past decade. Scholars have produced a large body of work exploring the nature, causes, and consequences of resilience. This work has implications for practitioners in areas ranging from clinical practice to educational settings. This paper briefly reviews the historical and theoretical roots of resilience, highlights important empirical findings, and offers a vision for the future of resilience research.
Keywords: resilience, positive psychology, development, measurement.
Chmitorz, A., Kunzler, A., Helmreich, I., Tüscher, O., & Kalisch, R. (2021). Promoting resilience in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(2), e25265. doi: 10.2196/25265.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to public health worldwide and has led to a sharp increase in mental health problems. There is an urgent need for effective interventions to promote resilience in the general population. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a smartphone-based intervention to promote resilience in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted among 309 adults in Germany. Participants were randomly assigned to either a smartphone-based intervention group or a control group. The intervention consisted of six sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered via a smartphone app. Resilience was assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up using the Resilience Scale. Results: The intervention group showed a significant improvement in resilience compared to the control group at post-intervention (Cohen’s d = 0.42, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.70, P = .005) and follow-up (Cohen’s d = 0.30, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.59, P = .04). Conclusions: The smartphone-based intervention was effective in promoting resilience in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic. This intervention has the potential to reduce the impact of the pandemic on mental health and should be considered for widespread dissemination.
Keywords: resilience, COVID-19, pandemic, intervention, randomized controlled trial.
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor‐Davidson resilience scale (CD‐RISC). Depression and anxiety, 18(2), 76-82.
Resilience may be viewed as a measure of stress-coping ability and, as such, could be an important target of treatment in anxiety, depression, and stress reactions. We describe a new rating scale to assess resilience. The Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC) comprises of 25 items, each rated on a 5-point scale (0–4), with higher scores reflecting greater resilience. The scale was administered to subjects in the following groups: community sample, primary care outpatients, general psychiatric outpatients, clinical trial of generalized anxiety disorder, and two clinical trials of PTSD. The reliability, validity, and factor analytic structure of the scale were evaluated, and reference scores for study samples were calculated. Sensitivity to treatment effects was examined in subjects from the PTSD clinical trials. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties and factor analysis yielded five factors. A repeated measures ANOVA showed that an increase in CD-RISC score was associated with greater improvement during treatment. Improvement in CD-RISC score was noted in proportion to overall clinical global improvement, with greatest increase noted in subjects with the highest global improvement and deterioration in CD-RISC score in those with minimal or no global improvement. The CD-RISC has sound psychometric properties and distinguishes between those with greater and lesser resilience. The scale demonstrates that resilience is modifiable and can improve with treatment, with greater improvement corresponding to higher levels of global improvement.
Keywords: resilience; stress coping; wellbeing; posttraumatic stress disorder; anxiety; depression
Friborg, O., Hjemdal, O., Rosenvinge, J. H., Martinussen, M. (2003). A new rating scale for adult resilience: What are the central protective resources behind healthy adjustment? International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 12, 65-76.
Resources that protect against the development of psychiatric disturbances are reported to be a significant force behind healthy adjustment to life stresses, rather than the absence of risk factors. In this paper a new scale for measuring the presence of protective resources that promote adult resilience is validated. The preliminary version of the scale consisted of 45 items covering five dimensions: personal competence, social competence, family coherence, social support and personal structure.
The Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA), the Sense of Coherence scale (SOC) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL) were given to 59 patients once, and to 276 normal controls twice, separated by four months. The factor structure was replicated. The respective dimensions had Cronbach’s alphas of 0.90, 0.83, 0.87, 0.83 and 0.67, and four-month test-retest correlations of 0.79, 0.84, 0.77, 0.69 and 0.74. Construct validity was supported by positive correlations with SOC and negative correlations with HSCL. The RSA differentiated between patients and healthy control subjects. Discriminant validity was indicated by differential positive correlations between RSA subscales and SOC. The RSA-scale might be used as a valid and reliable measurement in health and clinical psychology to assess the presence of protective factors important to regain and maintain mental health.
Keywords: resilience; scale development; validation; sense of coherence; psychiatric symptoms
Hensley, L. G., & Whitehead, L. C. (2021). The lived experience of resilience in women following breast cancer treatment. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(1-2), 75-87. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15553.
Aims and objectives: To explore the lived experience of resilience in women following breast cancer treatment. Background: Resilience is an important construct in positive psychology that has been studied in various contexts. However, there is limited research on the lived experience of resilience in breast cancer survivors. Design: A qualitative study using interpretive phenomenological analysis was conducted. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 women who had completed breast cancer treatment. The data were analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Results: Three superordinate themes emerged: (1) “Living with uncertainty and vulnerability,” (2) “Discovering inner strength,” and (3) “Creating a new normal.” These themes reflected the participants’ experiences of resilience as a process of adapting to challenges and finding new meaning in life following breast cancer treatment. Conclusions: Resilience is a dynamic and multifaceted process that involves living with uncertainty, discovering inner strength, and creating a new normal. Healthcare providers should be aware of the complex and individualized nature of resilience in breast cancer survivors and provide support to facilitate the process of post-treatment adaptation.
Keywords: resilience, breast cancer, women, lived experience, coping.
Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Li, J., & Wu, H. (2021). Resilience and depression: The mediating role of mindfulness and hope among adolescents after the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 663056. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663056.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on mental health, particularly among adolescents. Resilience, mindfulness, and hope are three positive psychology constructs that may play a protective role in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic. This study examined the associations between resilience, mindfulness, hope, and depression among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 659 adolescents completed self-report measures of resilience, mindfulness, hope, and depression. The results showed that resilience, mindfulness, and hope were negatively associated with depression. Mindfulness and hope partially mediated the relationship between resilience and depression. These findings highlight the importance of fostering resilience, mindfulness, and hope among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote mental health and well-being.
Keywords: resilience, depression, mindfulness, hope, adolescents, COVID-19.
Johnson, A. E., & van Zyl, M. A. (2021). Facilitating resilience in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(1), 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s10826-020-01898-3.
Resilience is a key construct in positive psychology that has been found to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in children and adolescents. There is a growing body of research on interventions to promote resilience in this population, but the effectiveness of these interventions remains unclear. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies designed to facilitate resilience in children and adolescents. A total of 45 studies were included in the review, and 25 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that interventions designed to promote resilience had a small to moderate effect on resilience outcomes (d = 0.42, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.54, P < .001). The effect sizes were larger for interventions delivered in school settings compared to those delivered in other settings. The findings suggest that interventions to promote resilience in children and adolescents can be effective and should be considered as part of a comprehensive approach to promoting positive development in this population.
Keywords: resilience, children, adolescents, intervention, systematic review, meta-analysis.
Kostovska, I., Angelovska, B., & Kostovski, Z. (2021). Coping strategies and resilience among university students in North Macedonia during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Mental Health, 30(4), 470-476. doi: 10.1080/09638237.2021.1891234.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of university students worldwide. Coping strategies and resilience are two important constructs that may play a protective role in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic. This study aimed to examine the associations between coping strategies, resilience, and mental health among university students in North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 476 students completed self-report measures of coping strategies, resilience, and mental health. The results showed that resilience was positively associated with mental health, while avoidance coping was negatively associated with mental health. Resilience partially mediated
the relationship between coping strategies and mental health. These findings highlight the importance of fostering resilience and adaptive coping strategies among university students to promote mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords: resilience, coping, COVID-19, university students, North Macedonia.
Lee, J. H., Kim, H., & Kim, D. (2021). The mediating role of resilience in the association between stress and quality of life in cancer patients. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 39(1), 27-38. doi: 10.1080/07347332.2020.1766558.
Resilience is a positive psychology construct that has been found to play a protective role in mitigating the negative effects of stress in various populations. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of resilience in the association between stress and quality of life in cancer patients. A total of 216 cancer patients completed self-report measures of stress, resilience, and quality of life. The results showed that resilience partially mediated the relationship between stress and quality of life. This finding suggests that resilience may be an important target for interventions aimed at improving the quality of life of cancer patients.
Keywords: resilience, stress, quality of life, cancer patients, mediation.
Lindström, M., Schön, U. K., & Schön, P. (2021). The development of resilience in managers: A qualitative study. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 36(1-2), 61-76. doi: 10.1080/15555240.2020.1852873.
Resilience is an important construct in positive psychology that has been found to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in various populations, including managers. However, little is known about the development of resilience in this population. This qualitative study aimed to explore the development of resilience in managers through in-depth interviews with 12 managers. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and four themes emerged: (1) “Learning from experiences,” (2) “Building supportive relationships,” (3) “Cultivating a positive mindset,” and (4) “Engaging in self-care.” These themes reflected the participants’ experiences of developing resilience through a process of learning from experiences, building supportive relationships, cultivating a positive mindset, and engaging in self-care. The findings suggest that resilience can be developed through a range of strategies and should be promoted as part of a comprehensive approach to promoting positive development in managers.
Keywords: resilience, managers, development, qualitative study.
Luthar, S.S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The Construct of Resilience: A Critical Evaluation and Guidelines for Future Work. Child Development, 71, (3), 543-562.
This paper presents a critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity. As empirical research on resilience has burgeoned in recent years, criticisms have been levied at work in this area. These critiques have generally focused on ambiguities in definitions and central terminology; heterogeneity in risks experienced and competence achieved by individuals viewed as resilient; instability of the phenomenon of resilience; and concerns regarding the usefulness of resilience as a theoretical construct. We address each identified criticism in turn, proposing solutions for those we view as legitimate and clarifying misunderstandings surrounding those we believe to be less valid. We conclude that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals. Realization of the potential embodied by this construct, however, will remain constrained without continued scientific attention to some of the serious conceptual and methodological pitfalls that have been noted by skeptics and proponents alike.
Keywords: Resilience; Protective factors; Risk factors; Child development; Psychological adjustment; Coping mechanisms; Vulnerability; Adversity; Stressful life events; Developmental psychopathology.
Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary Magic: Resilience Process in Development. American Psychologist, 56, (3), 227-238
The study of resilience in development has overturned many negative assumptions and deficit-focused models about children growing up under the threat of disadvantage and adversity. The most surprising conclusion emerging from studies of these children is the ordinariness of resilience. An examination of converging findings from variable-focused and person-focused investigations of these phenomena suggests that resilience is common and that it usually arises from the normative functions of human adaptational systems, with the greatest threats to human development being those that compromise these protective systems. The conclusion that resilience is made of ordinary rather than extraordinary processes offers a more positive outlook on human development and adaptation, as well as direction for policy and practice aimed at enhancing the development of children at risk for problems and psychopathology. The study of resilience in development has overturned many negative assumptions and deficit-focused models about children growing up under the threat of disadvantage and adversity.
Keywords: Resilience; Protective factors; Risk factors; Child development; Psychological adjustment; Coping mechanisms; Positive psychology; Developmental psychopathology; Adversity; Stressful life events; Social support; Self-regulation; Adaptive functioning;
Moon, H., Kim, J., & Cho, Y. (2021). A positive psychology approach to resilience: The role of sense of coherence, positive affect, and social support in Korean workers. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(2), 669-683. doi: 10.1007/s10902-020-00305-y.
Resilience is a key construct in positive psychology that has been found to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in various populations, including workers. However, little is known about the factors that contribute to resilience in Korean workers. This study aimed to examine the role of sense of coherence, positive affect, and social support in resilience among Korean workers. A total of 392 workers completed self-report measures of sense of coherence, positive affect, social support, and resilience. The results showed that sense of coherence, positive affect, and social support were positively associated with resilience. Sense of coherence and social support partially mediated the relationship between positive affect and resilience. These findings highlight the importance of promoting sense of coherence, positive affect, and social support among workers to foster resilience and promote well-being in the workplace.
Keywords: resilience, positive psychology, sense of coherence, positive affect, social support, Korean workers.
Rutter, M., & The English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study team. (1997). Developmental catch-up, and deficit, following adoption after severe global early privation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39(4), 465-476. doi: 10.1017/S0021963098002236.
This paper reports on findings from the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study, which investigated the effects of severe early privation on child development and the potential for recovery following adoption. The study examined children who were adopted from Romanian orphanages in the early 1990s, where they experienced extreme neglect and deprivation. The results showed that children who were adopted before the age of 6 months demonstrated significant developmental catch-up, with their cognitive and physical development approaching normal levels. However, children who were adopted after the age of 6 months continued to exhibit deficits in cognitive, physical, and social development despite being placed in caring and supportive families. The study highlights the importance of early intervention in the face of severe early adversity and the potential for recovery with timely intervention.
Keywords: early privation, adoption, child development, developmental catch-up, developmental deficit.
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, J., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 15(3), 194-200. doi: 10.1080/10705500802222972.
While resilience has been defined as resistance to illness, adaptation, and thriving, the ability to bounce back or recover from stress is closest to its original meaning. Previous resilience measures assess resources that may promote resilience rather than recovery, resistance, adaptation, or thriving. To test a new brief resilience scale. The brief resilience scale (BRS) was created to assess the ability to bounce back or recover from stress. Its psychometric characteristics were examined in four samples, including two student samples and samples with cardiac and chronic pain patients. The BRS was reliable and measured as a unitary construct. It was predictably related to personal characteristics, social relations, coping, and health in all samples. It was negatively related to anxiety, depression, negative affect, and physical symptoms when other resilience measures and optimism, social support, and Type D personality (high negative affect and high social inhibition) were controlled. There were large differences in BRS scores between cardiac patients with and without Type D and women with and without fibromyalgia. The BRS is a reliable means of assessing resilience as the ability to bounce back or recover from stress and may provide unique and important information about people coping with health-related stressors.
Keywords: brief resilience scale; stress; recovery; pain; cardiac
Werner, E. E. (1993). Risk, resilience, and recovery: Perspectives from the Kauai Longitudinal Study. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 503-515.
This article summarizes the major findings of a longitudinal study that traced the developmental paths of a multiracial cohort of children who had been exposed to perinatal stress, chronic poverty, and a family environment troubled by chronic discord and parental psychopathology. Individuals are members of the Kauai Longitudinal Study, which followed all children born in 1955 on a Hawaiian island from the perinatal period to ages 1, 2, 10, 18, and 32 years. Several clusters of protective factors and processes were identified that enabled most of these high-risk individuals to become competent and caring adults. Implications of the findings for developmental theory and social action programs are discussed, and issues for future research are identified.
Keywords: Resilience; Risk factors; Protective factors; Developmental psychopathology; Adversity; Longitudinal study; Child development; Psychological adjustment; Coping mechanisms; Social support; Recovery
Windle, G., Bennet, K. M., & Noyes, J. (2011). A methodological review of resilience measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9(8), 1-18. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-9-8
The evaluation of interventions and policies designed to promote resilience, and research to understand the determinants and associations, require reliable and valid measures to ensure data quality. This paper systematically reviews the psychometric rigour of resilience measurement scales developed for use in general and clinical populations. Eight electronic abstract databases and the internet were searched and reference lists of all identified papers were hand searched. The focus was to identify peer-reviewed journal articles where resilience was a key focus and/or is assessed. Two authors independently extracted data and performed a quality assessment of the scale’s psychometric properties.
Nineteen resilience measures were reviewed; four of these were refinements of the original measure. All the measures had some missing information regarding the psychometric properties. Overall, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Resilience Scale for Adults and the Brief Resilience Scale received the best psychometric ratings. The conceptual and theoretical adequacy of a number of the scales was questionable.
We found no current ‘gold standard’ among 15 measures of resilience. A number of the scales are in the early stages of development, and all require further validation work. Given the increasing interest in resilience from major international funders, key policymakers and practice, researchers are urged to report relevant validation statistics when using the measures.
Keywords: Resilience; Measurement scales; Psychometric properties; Reliability; Validity; Factor analysis; Methodology; Health-related quality of life; Mental health
Wright, M. O. D., Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2013). Resilience processes in development: Four waves of research on positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.). Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 15-37). Us: Springer.
How do children and adolescents “make it” when their development is threatened by poverty, neglect, maltreatment, war, violence, or exposure to oppression, racism, and discrimination? What protects them when their parents are disabled by substance abuse, mental illness, or serious physical illness? How do we explain the phenomenon of resilience—children succeeding in spite of serious challenges to their development—and put this knowledge to work for the benefit of children and society? The scientific study of resilience emerged around 1970 when a group of pioneering researchers began to notice the phenomenon of positive adaptation among subgroups of children who were considered “at risk” for developing later psychopathology (Masten, 2001, 2012).
Wu, L., Fang, X., & Li, M. (2021). The relationship between organizational resilience and employee well-being: The mediating role of psychological capital. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s10869-020-09684-8.
Organizational resilience is an important construct that has been found to be associated with a range of positive outcomes in the workplace. However, little is known about the relationship between organizational resilience and employee well-being, and the factors that may mediate this relationship. This study aimed to examine the relationship between organizational resilience and employee well-being, and the mediating role of psychological capital. A total of 324 employees from various organizations completed self-report measures of organizational resilience, psychological capital, and well-being. The results showed that organizational resilience was positively associated with employee well-being, and psychological capital partially mediated this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of promoting organizational resilience and psychological capital as part of a comprehensive approach to promoting employee well-being in the workplace.
Keywords: resilience, organizational resilience, well-being, psychological capital, mediation.