Strength Based Resilience: Integrating Risk and Resources Towards Holistic Well-being

Abstract

In this chapter, we unpack the ordinary magic of resilience from scientific and application perspectives. We begin with definition of resilience. As described in the previous chapter, resilience is the ability to bounce back effectively in the face of adversities, challenges, traumas and setbacks. It is to persevere, adapt and make sense of trauma or loss (Masten 2001; Brooks and Goldstein 2004). Resilience is also defined as reduced vulnerability to environmental risk experiences, the overcoming of a stress or adversity, or a relatively good outcome despite risk experience (Rutter 2006). Resilience is not entirely fixed but is an ability that can be acquired - a central theme of this chapter. While the role of school system in promoting resilience was analyzed in the previous chapter of this book, we present a brief summary of the current literature on resilience among children and adolescents and highlight a predominant focus on the role of resilience in protecting against risk factors. While the protective factors have long been explored in unpacking resilience, the role of character strengths among these protective factors has not received much attention. We propose an alternative model of resilience called a Strength-Based Resilience (SBR), which incorporates character strengths in enhancing resilience. We posit that by meaningfully incorporating the complex yet critical interplay of negative risks and positive resources, that is, character strengths we can enrich our scientific understanding of resilience, and can make it more accessible to nonwestern cultures which do not fully subscribe to pathologically-oriented risk factors such as vulnerabilities, deficits, dysfunctions and disorders (Wallace and Shapiro 2006; Joseph and Wood 2010). Resilience, we believe is not only surviving but also thriving. To make our case, we present converging lines of evidence that support this approach. We also present results of our initial studies with culturally diverse students and teachers based on a SBR approach. We conclude the chapter with implications for future applications of a strength-based resilience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved). (chapter)