Psychological resilience

Psychological resilience, or mental resilience, is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to how things were before the crisis quickly. It is seen as either a process that grows over time or as a stable part of a person's character. Many things affect resilience, like self-esteem, self-control, optimism, and understanding emotions, as well as support from family, friends, and the community.

The idea of resilience became well-known in the 1970s and 1980s thanks to psychologist Emmy Werner. She studied children from difficult backgrounds in Kauai, Hawaii over forty years. She discovered that about one-third of these children grew up to be well-adjusted adults, even though they faced many hard times. This happened because of special qualities in their personalities, families, and communities.

Scientists have found that resilience is linked to brain chemicals like dopamine and endogenous opioids, as well as changes in genes and brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Feeling good helps people recover from stress and build strong relationships. People can become more resilient through certain thinking methods, being mindful, having social support, and other helpful actions.

Resilience has been looked at in many situations, such as facing hard times as a child, natural disasters, losing a loved one, stress at work, and serving in the military. Culture also plays a role in how people deal with and recover from tough situations. Some people think the idea of resilience might put too much focus on what individuals can do, instead of what governments or organizations should do to help after a disaster.

Overview

A resilient person uses thoughts and actions to stay strong and protect themselves from the bad effects of stressful situations. Psychological resilience means that someone can stay in a healthy mental state during tough times or chaos without long-term negative effects.

Research shows that resilience is important for mental health and happiness. People who are resilient can handle life's challenges better, keep positive feelings, and bounce back from setbacks. They often feel confident, stay hopeful, and solve problems well, which helps them adapt and succeed even in hard times. Resilience can help people grow stronger after facing difficult situations.

Process

Psychological resilience is often seen as a process that people develop over time. It can also be thought of as a personal quality that helps someone stay strong.

When people face a tough situation, they can react in different ways. Some might get angry, while others might feel overwhelmed and stop trying. But the best way to handle it is to face the feelings and find ways to cope. This helps people grow stronger and feel better.

Resilient people know how to solve problems and bounce back after hard times. They are helped by supportive families, schools, and communities, which give them the strength to handle challenges.

Biological models

Resilience is a complex concept that involves many parts of our biology. It is linked to how our nervous systems work, including the somatic, autonomic, and central systems.

Research shows that changes in our DNA, called epigenetic modifications, can affect resilience. Certain changes help us handle stress better. Chemicals in the brain, like dopamine and oxytocin, also play a role in helping us stay strong during tough times. Changes in brain areas such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus can influence our mental health and our ability to cope with stress.

Sport models

In sports, being strong in mind means not just having a natural ability but also growing from practice, wanting to do well, and the conditions around you. People in sports talk about two kinds of this strength: one that stays the same, like always trying hard, and another that changes over time, helping athletes deal with tough situations better. These ideas help athletes recover from stress and stay steady in competitions.

History

The first research on resilience was published in 1973. This study looked at how some people stay strong even when faced with hard times. It used a method called epidemiology to find out what helps people stay safe and strong.

One of the early scientists who studied resilience was Emmy Werner. She looked at children growing up in tough places, like Kauai in Hawaii. Many of these children had parents who struggled with illness or had no jobs. Werner found that while many of these children had hard times later, some stayed strong and did well. She called these children resilient.

Researchers also studied children whose parents faced serious health issues. Even though these children sometimes didn’t get as much care, some still did very well in school and life. This helped scientists learn more about what helps people handle tough situations.

Trait resilience

Some people are naturally better at handling tough times because of their personality and temperament. Being calm, confident, and able to stay positive helps someone stay strong when faced with problems.

Traits like being open to new experiences and feeling good about oneself can also help. Researchers study resilience in two ways: by looking directly at how people react to hard times, or by comparing it to other known personality traits that help protect someone from stress.

Developing and sustaining resilience

There are many ways to think about what helps a person stay strong and calm during tough times. Researchers have found several important things that help people build this strength.

One study found five key things that help people stay strong: making good plans and following through, feeling confident in your abilities, having good skills for talking and solving problems, managing strong feelings, and having healthy self-esteem.

For older adults, things like having good friends and family, being independent, taking care of yourself, and having a positive outlook on life are very important.

Another study looked at people who do very well in challenging jobs. These people shared some common traits: they were positive and proactive, they learned from their experiences, they felt in control of their lives, they could adapt and be flexible, they kept things in balance, and they had good support from friends and family.

Experts suggest several ways to build strength:

• Spend time with friends and family.
• Join a group or club.
• Take care of your body by eating well and staying active.
• Practice being calm and mindful.
• Avoid using alcohol or other harmful ways to cope.
• Help others when you can.
• Be ready to look for solutions to problems.
• Work toward your goals.
• Look for good in tough situations.
• Keep things in perspective.
• Accept that change happens.
• Stay hopeful.
• Learn from your past experiences.

Feeling positive even when things are hard helps people stay strong. Positive feelings make it easier to solve problems and recover from stress. They also help protect the body and build strong relationships.

Having good support from friends, family, and community is very important for staying strong. Feeling connected to others and having trust helps people face challenges together.

Learning new languages and communicating with others can also help build strength, especially for people who have had to leave their homes. Talking and sharing stories can help people understand and heal from difficult experiences.

Programs that help children and families, like mentoring and coaching, also support building strength. Learning to cope with stress through healthy activities, like exercise and talking with friends, is another key part of staying strong.

Children

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are events in a child's life that can cause tension, low mood, or repeated thoughts. Children who face difficult situations, like growing up with only one parent or in a family that struggles with money, often find it harder to feel confident and may act out more.

Resilience helps children overcome tough times. It develops over time as children face small challenges and learn how to handle them, building skills and a sense of self-worth. Good thinking skills and positive relationships, especially with caring adults like parents, help children stay strong. Even in risky situations, children with these supportive factors usually do better.

Resilience in children comes from many sources, including loving parenting, close friendships, intelligence, self-control, and a desire to achieve. Communities and schools also play a big role by offering support and helping children feel they belong. These factors help children grow and face life’s challenges with confidence.

Specific situations

Divorce

Having strong resilience can help everyone when parents divorce. How well a child handles this depends on their own health and the support they get from school, friends, and other family members. Not all children react the same way; some may have more trouble than others. While some children face emotional and behavior problems during a divorce, most will grow up to be well-adjusted adults without long-term issues.

Divorce brings many changes, like money problems or new step-parents, which can be stressful for children. Programs like the Children's Support Group can help kids cope with these changes.

Bullying

Main article: Bullying and emotional intelligence § Resilience

When dealing with bullying, having emotional intelligence helps build resilience. This means being able to handle stress and manage emotions well, which can prevent negative outcomes. Studies show that girls often show more behavioral resilience, while boys may show more emotional resilience. Learning to manage emotions and understand them is key to staying strong when facing tough situations.

Natural disasters

Resilience after a natural disaster can be looked at in three ways: how each person handles it, how the whole community works together, and how the area's environment and buildings hold up. Communities that work together and share resources recover more quickly. Countries with stronger economies and more job options also tend to bounce back better.

How well a person handles a disaster depends on how they deal with their emotions during and after the event. Those who face their feelings and use positive coping methods often grow from the experience and can help others.

Death of a family member

Until recently, most studies looked at how individuals handle grief, not families. Resilience here means keeping balance and harmony even after a loss. Resilient families talk openly about what happened, show understanding for each other, and keep up their daily routines. Staying connected through school and other activities also helps children cope.

Workplace settings

Main article: Workplace resilience

Resilience is important in the workplace, especially when things don’t go as planned. It helps people stay motivated and willing to try new ideas. Certain traits, like self-confidence and a positive outlook, support resilience. In innovative work, where things are often uncertain, resilience helps people keep trying even after setbacks. Researchers have identified key parts of resilience that are especially important for innovators, such as self-belief and optimism.

Cultural differences

Different cultures have different ways of thinking about how people handle tough times. For example, in places that value individual achievements, like the U.S., people often focus on their own goals and strengths. In other places, like Japan, people may focus more on working together as a group.

When big problems happen, like natural disasters, how people respond can also differ. Some cultures might pull together more as a group, while others might focus on what each person can do for themselves. Even with these differences, many cultures have their own words to describe being strong and bouncing back after hard times. For example, in Chinese, a common word for this idea means "rebound," and in Greek, it can mean "bounce." Each culture has its own special way of thinking about and talking about resilience.

Measurement

Resilience can be measured by looking at personal qualities that show how people handle tough times. There are many ways to check for resilience, but no single best method. Some common tools include scales that look at traits like staying calm under pressure, feeling in control of life, and being able to adapt to change.

Other ways to understand resilience involve looking at related traits such as personality, thinking skills, managing emotions, feeling well overall, and staying healthy. These can all help someone stay strong during difficult moments. Some studies combine these different ways to get a fuller picture of resilience, showing how recovery, staying steady, adapting, and having good relationships all play a part.

Criticism

People sometimes disagree about what it means to be resilient. This disagreement can make it hard to study resilience because researchers might not all be looking at the same thing. Some believe resilience is something you either have or don’t have, while others think it’s something you can build over time.

Some writers, like Brad Evans and Julian Reid, say that talking too much about resilience can make people feel like they have to handle problems on their own, instead of getting help from others or the government. They worry this takes attention away from what bigger groups should be doing to help during tough times.