Psychosocial Resilience and Protective Mechanisms
01 Jan 1990-pp 181-214
TL;DR: The concept of mechanisms that protect people against the psychological risks associated with adversity is discussed in relation to four main processes: reduction of risk impact, reduction of negative chain reactions, establishment and maintenance of self-esteem and self-efficacy, and opening up of opportunities.
Abstract: The concept of mechanisms that protect people against the psychological risks associated with adversity is discussed in relation to four main processes: reduction of risk impact, reduction of negative chain reactions, establishment and maintenance of self-esteem and self-efficacy, and opening up of opportunities. The mechanisms operating at key turning points in people's lives must be given special attention.
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TL;DR: A critical appraisal of resilience, a construct connoting the maintenance of positive adaptation by individuals despite experiences of significant adversity, concludes that work on resilience possesses substantial potential for augmenting the understanding of processes affecting at-risk individuals.
Abstract: 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.
7,392 citations
Cites background from "Psychosocial Resilience and Protect..."
...Such attention to underlying mechanisms is viewed as essential for advancing theory and research in the field, as well as for designing appropriate prevention and intervention strategies for individuals facing adversity (Cicchetti & Toth, 1991, 1992; Luthar, 1993; Masten et al., 1990; Rutter, 1990)....
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...Several studies have indicated varying antecedents of resilience as compared with positive adjustment in general (cf. Rutter, 1990)....
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...…are two critical conditions: (1) exposure to significant threat or severe adversity; and (2) the achievement of positive adaptation despite major assaults on the developmental process (Garmezy, 1990; Luthar & Zigler, 1991; Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Rutter, 1990; Werner & Smith, 1982, 1992)....
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...As Garmezy (1990) has emphasized, short- and long-term longitudinal research on resilience provides critical opportunities to record changes in life-span developmental pathways—including the emergence of new vulnerabilities, strengths, or both at each period of the life course—which permits further validation of the dynamic nature of the construct of resilience (Gest et al., 1993; Rutter, 1990)....
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..., 1990), its continued vitality and impact necessitate concerted efforts to reach consensus on pivotal terms within major models (Rolf & Johnson, 1990; Rutter, 1990)....
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TL;DR: An examination of converging findings from variable-focused and person-focused investigations of resilience 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.
Abstract: 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.
5,961 citations
Cites background from "Psychosocial Resilience and Protect..."
...This is because most risk indicalors are arbitrarily labeled this way (Kraemer et al., 1997; Masten, 1994; Rutter, 1990; Sameroff et al., 1997; Stomhamer-Loeber el al., 1993)....
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...The most complex person-oriented models of resilience discussed in the literature focus on healthy versus maladaptive pathways of development in lives through time and give special attention to turning points in people's lives (e.g., Bergman & Magnussen, 1997; Cairns & Cairns, 1994; Cicchetti & Rogosch, 1997; Egeland, Carlson, & Sroufe, 1993; Masten, 1994; Rutter, 1990; Sameroff, 1982; Werner & Smith, 1982)....
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TL;DR: Evidence is reviewed that resilience represents a distinct trajectory from the process of recovery, that resilience in the face of loss or potential trauma is more common than is often believed, and that there are multiple and sometimes unexpected pathways to resilience.
Abstract: Many people are exposed to loss or potentially traumatic events at some point in their lives, and yet they continue to have positive emotional experiences and show only minor and transient disruptions in their ability to function. Unfortunately, because much of psychology’s knowledge about how adults cope with loss or trauma has come from individuals who sought treatment or exhibited great distress, loss and trauma theorists have often viewed this type of resilience as either rare or pathological. The author challenges these assumptions by reviewing evidence that resilience represents a distinct trajectory from the process of recovery, that resilience in the face of loss or potential trauma is more common than is often believed, and that there are multiple and sometimes unexpected pathways to resilience. M ost people are exposed to at least one violent or life-threatening situation during the course of their lives (Ozer, Best, Lipsey, & Weiss, 2003). As people progress through the life cycle, they are also increasingly confronted with the deaths of close friends and relatives. Not everyone copes with these potentially disturbing events in the same way. Some people experience acute distress from which they are unable to recover. Others suffer less intensely and for a much shorter period of time. Some people seem to recover quickly but then begin to experience unexpected health problems or difficulties concentrating or enjoying life the way they used to. However, large numbers of people manage to endure the temporary upheaval of loss or potentially traumatic events remarkably well, with no apparent disruption in their ability to function at work or in close relationships, and seem to move on to new challenges with apparent ease. This article is devoted to the latter group and to the question of resilience in the face of loss or potentially traumatic events. The importance of protective psychological factors in the prevention of illness is now well established (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenewald, 2000). Moreover, developmental psychologists have shown that resilience is common among children growing up in disadvantaged conditions (e.g., Masten, 2001). Unfortunately, because most of the psychological knowledge base regarding the ways adults cope with loss or potential trauma has been derived from individuals who have experienced significant psychological problems or sought treatment, theorists working in this area have often underestimated and misunderstood resilience, viewing it either as a pathological state or as something seen only in rare and exceptionally healthy individuals. In this article, I challenge this view by reviewing evidence that resilience in the face of loss or potential trauma represents a distinct trajectory from that of recovery, that resilience is more common than often believed, and that there are multiple and sometimes unexpected pathways to resilience.
5,415 citations
Cites background from "Psychosocial Resilience and Protect..."
...Recent studies suggest a far more complex picture; as developmental psychologists have long asserted, there is no single means of maintaining equilibrium following highly aversive events, but rather there are multiple pathways to resilience (e.g., Luthar, Doernberger, & Zigler, 1993; Rutter, 1987)....
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TL;DR: A variety of mechanisms linking SES to child well-being have been proposed, with most involving differences in access to material and social resources or reactions to stress-inducing conditions by both the children themselves and their parents.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences. Several ways of measuring SES have been proposed, but most include some quantification of family income, parental education, and occupational status. Research shows that SES is associated with a wide array of health, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes in children, with effects beginning prior to birth and continuing into adulthood. A variety of mechanisms linking SES to child well-being have been proposed, with most involving differences in access to material and social resources or reactions to stress-inducing conditions by both the children themselves and their parents. For children, SES impacts well-being at multiple levels, including both family and neighborhood. Its effects are moderated by children's own characteristics, family characteristics, and external support systems.
4,627 citations
Cites background from "Psychosocial Resilience and Protect..."
...Such experiences provide both direct and indirect (i.e., mediated through more capable peers and adults) learning opportunities for children as well as serving as a motivational base for continued learning (Saegert & Winkel 1990)....
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Book•
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: The Handbook of Positive Psychology as mentioned in this paper provides a forum for a more positive view of the human condition and provides an analysis of what the foremost experts believe to be the fundamental strengths of humankind.
Abstract: Psychology has long been enamored of the dark side of human existence, rarely exploring a more positive view of the mind. What has psychology contributed, for example, to our understanding of the various human virtues? Regrettably, not much. The last decade, however, has witnessed a growing movement to abandon the exclusive focus on the negative. Psychologists from several subdisciplines are now asking an intriguing question: "What strengths does a person employ to deal effectively with life?" The Handbook of Positive Psychology provides a forum for a more positive view of the human condition. In its pages, readers are treated to an analysis of what the foremost experts believe to be the fundamental strengths of humankind. Both seasoned professionals and students just entering the field are eager to grasp the power and vitality of the human spirit as it faces a multitude of life challenges. The Handbook is the first systematic attempt to bring together leading scholars to give voice to the emerging field of positive psychology.
4,097 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, an exploración de the avances contemporaneos en la teoria del aprendizaje social, con especial enfasis en los importantes roles que cumplen los procesos cognitivos, indirectos, and autoregulatorios.
Abstract: Una exploracion de los avances contemporaneos en la teoria del aprendizaje social, con especial enfasis en los importantes roles que cumplen los procesos cognitivos, indirectos, y autoregulatorios.
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TL;DR: This article found that negative life experiences and stressful happenings may serve to precipitate mental disorders, and that a variety of stressors may play a role in the genesis of psychiatric disorder.
Abstract: Almost since the beginnings of psychiatric practice, there has been a recognition that negative life experiences and stressful happenings may serve to precipitate mental disorders (Garmezy & Rutter, 1985). Nearly 200 years ago, Pinel wrote about the psychiatric risks associated with unexpected reverses or adverse circumstances, and it is reported that his initial question to newly admitted psychiatric patients was: “Have you suffered vexation, grief or reverse of fortune?” Nevertheless, although an appreciation that a variety of stressors may play a role in the genesis of psychiatric disorder has a long history, the systematic study of such effects is much more recent.
3,248 citations
2,195 citations