Resilience

Resilience is defined as the personal characteristics, resources, and processes that enable one to thrive in the face of adversity. The term resilience carries multiple meanings across the various disciplines and helping professions, and although it is operationalized in numerous ways, most definitions center on two major concepts: adversity and a process of positive adaptation. A common assumption is that resilient individuals are able to bounce back from adversity, reaching or surpassing a precrisis level of functioning. Resilience carries a salutogenic orientation, that is, a focus on factors that support health and well-being rather than on factors that cause illness. Thus, strengths, rather than deficits, are emphasized and viewed as the resources that allow individuals to overcome adversity. Principle components of resilience include a balanced ...