A Theoretical Review of Psychological Resilience: Defining Resilience and Resilience Research over the Decades
A Theoretical Review of Psychological Resilience: Defining Resilience and Resilience Research over the Decades
Abstract
Recent times have seen a shift in interest from a focus upon the deficits of individuals to a focus upon individual's strengths. Resilience is a positive psychology construct that has been investigated for decades, prior to this paradigm shift. This article reviews definitions of resilience over time. Although there is no single agreed definition; resilience is commonly described as the ability to bounce back. The risk of stress and negative life events in triggering mental illness has long been recognized. Similarly, the positive outcomes of some individuals to highly adverse situations have also been of interest for a long time. These positive responses or outcomes in the face of significant risk or adversity are generally known as resilience. This article provides a review of definitions of resilience and resilience related phenomena as well as a historical review of the focus of resilience research across the decades in order to inform future research and theorizing. The article concludes with recommendations to researchers to explicitly define their definition and conceptualization of the construct as well as the imperative to move towards a unified view of the construct of resilience. Further, it is clear that research on resilience has progressed and evolved over the decades however this does not denote that research in the area is complete. As such researchers should still seek to understand the complexities of resilience, how to build resilience in different populations, or in individuals experiencing similar adversities.
Introduction
Introduction
Recent years have seen a paradigm shift within the mental health sphere from a focus upon an individual's deficits to a more enlightened focus upon an individual's strengths. This paradigm shift has resulted in increased interest in the positive aspects of human functioning and more recently how these positive factors can assist with an individual's resolve and optimal functioning. This shift has resulted in a plethora of literature exploring positive psychology constructs such as resilience, optimism, and happiness, to name a few. In relation, specifically to resilience, this concept has evolved over decades of research, with research on the concept of resilience preceding the paradigm change. This article reviews different definitions of the concept of resilience in order to provoke forethought between readers and researchers alike as to the most suitable definition of the concept. A brief discussion of the neurobiology of resilience is presented and trends across the decades in resilience research are also discussed.
