Resilience Theory and the Practice of Positive Psychology From Individuals to Societies

Abstract

Positive psychology emphasizes the study of human strength and virtue to understand and facilitate positive developmental outcomes. A resilience framework offers a powerful tool for realizing the goals of positive psychology in contexts of adversity. This chapter takes stock of recent advances in resilience-based practice, focussing on expanding the scope beyond the individual level, and laments the still untapped wealth of practical information that awaits reciprocal translation to resilience research. It reviews key concepts and models of resilience as translated to the design and implementation of applied efforts to promote positive development. The chapter emphasizes the need for resilience-guided practice that accommodates the dynamic nature of human development at multiple levels of analysis within and across individuals, families, institutions, communities, and nations. It encourages greater recognition of resilience-based practice as an underutilized resource for testing core tenets of resilience theory and broadening bidirectional paths from science-based practice to practice-based science.