Psychology of resilience

Abstract

Research in the area of psychological resilience has gained much popularity since the birth of positive psychology movement in the late 1990s. This chapter attempts to summarize the progress of research conducted in the area. It begins by tracing the emergence of the concept with special focus on its development since the positive psychology movement. The concepts of vulnerability, risk and protective factors, as well as major theoretical frameworks proposed by resilience researchers in attempting to understand resilience, are discussed. Over the years, resilience researchers have faced several conceptual and methodological constraints in studying the phenomena. These issues have been highlighted in order to provide further clarification on the topic. An outline of recent researches in the area with an emphasis on the contributions made by Indian researchers is presented. Finally, applications of findings along with directions for future research have been discussed.