Topic 7 - Resilience

Question 1

Thomas Kuhn (1962) and paradigms incl. 4 phases of paradigms

Answer 1

Paradigm – typical example or pattern of something (Oxford Languages)
•	Phase 1 Pre-Science
•	Phase 2 Normal Science
•	Phase 3 Crisis
•	Phase 4 Revolution 

When talking about resilience, it really was a new approach we were taking. - from looking at “vulnerabilities” in stress, to looking at “positives/strengths”.
Folkman work was fundamental to this (individual differences, process)
Kuhn also influential - philosopher of science (structure of revolutions - one of most cited works ever) - his work challenged science as a whole. He was into history of science. He argued science has a “paradigm”, which remains constant until a paradigm shift, where it cannot explain a sufficient amount anymore, and a new paradigm takes over (instead of steady, gradual changes in scientific knowledge, he looked at a paradigm shift) - new paradigm allows for better models to be evolved.

Phase 1: period before scientific consensus - basically very disorganized, debate about fundamental ideas - no agreement upon anything, lots of theories with no commonalities - changes into phase 2 when you get/have more of an established sense of what is going on/consensus.

Phase 2: “normal science” - a paradigm has been established (a paradigm = a pattern of something) - this is the “conventional basis for research” - people who don’t confirm to this view are seen as anomalies

Phase 3: where paradigm shifts occur - so many contradictory evidences that it undermines assumptions of original paradigm - leads to ideas that challenge existing paradigm. If anomalies cannot be resolved, it leads to a paradigm change. If anomalies can be resolved = back to phase 2.

Phase 4: new paradigm is established (takes some time)

it is not just step A, B, C, you can see how change happens. Changes often more psychological/sociological driven - more “jumps” between steps.

Impact of Kuhn’s work can be seen in philosophy of science - but also elevating the word “paradigm” into a broader meaning.
What does it have to do with resilience?
• He did not have direct impact on resilience or psychology - but the understanding of change in the scientific field. –> allowed for more growth to happen in different scientific fields, and happen in a “non logical manner”, more leaps.
• The change from a disease/vulnerabilities model of stress and coping, to a more protective/strengths model was a leap.

A philosopher challenged how scientists approach science. = allowed scientists for bigger jumps and bigger challenges.

Question 2

Meaning of resilience and its 3 prominent features, and trait-process-outcome discrepancy.

Answer 2

Resilience
• 17th century
• Latin – “resiliens” or “resiliere” meaning “to rebound, recoil” (Online Etymology Dictionary)
• It is a term that is used very widely - concern that is is losing its meaning behind it.

Three prominent features of resilience
• Recovery
• Sustainability
• Growth

These features are inherent to pretty much any entity (culture, nation, world, individual, cell) = fundamental pieces for organized entities.

Research on resilience has identified overall stable factors important to resilience as a whole - where a lot of research on resilience started, looking into these “traits” such as personality that were part of what we thought made someone resilient.
Shifting towards focus on resilience as a process (vs identified protective factors) (since 1990s)
Resilience has been defined as a trait, as a process, and as an outcome = has led to some confusion and difficulty in the field. – huge problem in literature, there are many ways to define the same thing = confusion and difficulty.

Question 3

Examples of Different Definitions of Resilience

Answer 3

• Protective factors which modify, ameliorate or alter a person’s response to some environmental hazard that predisposes to a maladaptive outcome (Rutter, 1987)
• The personal qualities that enables one to thrive in the face of adversity (Connor and Davidson, 2003)
• Complex repertoire of behiavoural tendencies (Agaibi and Wilson, 2005)
• The capacity of individual’s to cope successfully with significant change, adversity or risk (Lee and Cranford, 2008)
• An individual’s ability or quick recovery (or even growth) under significant adverse conditions (Leipold and Greve, 2009)

These are just some of the definitions

So resilience has been used and described in a variety of contexts (e.g. Community resilience, and from ecological system (ability to absorb and maintain), engineering resilience, personality, organizational resilience, physicist look at resilience (how materials can absorb stress and bounce back to original states)

Most important to us: psychological resilience

Question 4

Psychological Resilience

Answer 4

• An individual’s ability to properly adapt to stress and adversity (Spencer, 2015 p. 27)
• Resilience is not seen as rare - everyone has it - because if this, it is argued it should be not seen as a trait, but as a process (it can become better and worse)
• Within this process, we see individuals use behavioral adaption when encountering stress - it is different from e.g. Having more resources.
• E.g. 2 people are optimistic, one might be able to use that optimism to believe they can get another job, where the other might also have the strength of optimism, but they don’t have the resilient process of “knowing how to use that optimism”

Two-dimensional construct of resilience
• Adversity
• Positive Adjustment

Most definitions are based around two core concepts

Introduced by luther and colleagues and has gained lots of attention in field

Adversity = Adversity meaning any hardship / positive changes that result in challenges (e.g. Job promotion also presents challenges)

Positive adjustment/adaptation = social confidence /success at meeting different environemntal tasks, wellbeing, positive adaption/change really (a good outcome associated with the challenge)

Resilience is MORE than someone’s ability to cope.

It is the opportunity-capacity (social, cultural, phsycial resources) that can help them sustain wellbeing)
Lay people understanding of resilience: idea resilient people don’t experience negative emotional states = wrong! They work out effectively how to balance negative and positive emotions - resilient people maybe able to better maintain positive emotions in face of adversity, helping them be more problem solving. But doesn’t mean they don’t experience setbacks or negative emotional states.

Discrepancy: psychological resilience = over and above SES and resources, but positive adjustment = good availabale and use of ressources.
What is difference?
Resilience is separate from coping (and the ressources you have available).
Example: 2 people lose jobs, both people have excelent social ressources - resilient person can better access/use their ressource. They might also both be optimistic, but resielience is if they can USE that optimism. (say “it’s okay because i can find a new job because XYZ)

Question 5

Key Studies for resilience and their directions in the field

Answer 5

• Werner and Smith (1982)
• Hawaii study - 505 hawaii children from 1955, folowed from prental to adulthood - followed closely, then followups (more distanced) - looked at impact of basic biopsychosocial risk factors on development of individuals - focused on vulnerability, and resilience of those who overcame odds (set against them) (gives context of the odds. In the time, the island was in economic downswing. ) - also looked at recovery process (e.g. Delinquency in adolescence - looking at improved prospecs - how their pahway changed or didn’t change based on whaever experiences they had) - foolowing of the cohort allowed for idnetification of larger scale (e.g. Prenatal care, access to different resources, (and how it affected) access to foood, encounters with police, etc)
• Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen (1984)
• Based in minnesota - 3 cohorts of children.
• 1 cohort: born to mothers with major mental illness - looked at compentence and incompetence in areas such as social interaction, education, etc. - chosen because they were “a risk”, or because of some dysfunction in the child, e.g. Behavior dysfunctions.
• 2 cohort: 32 kids, identified with congenital heart defects
• 3 cohort: 29 severe physical disabilities - observed when transitioning from “special education” classrooms to normal classrooms.

The studies were key because they not only with resilience, and the differences between the kids that came off better or worse - but also helped develop that things are imporant in the reserach:
Longitudinal research: you have to follow someone over time to see when/what sressful events occur, and what happens.
Multilevel analyses: resilience is best understood as part of multilevel system (biological, psychologica, community levels) - multilevel analysis allows us to identify differences and where they occur and interact.

Question 6

Resiliency can be taught - 4 types of people

Answer 6

Resiliency can be taught (dynamic process rather than static trait = big step forward)
4 types of people:
• Those who have learned how to be resilient - And activily use processes to create resilience (people who not only survive, but thrive)
• Those who know how but struggle to implement
• Those who know how but choose not to engage
• Those who do not know how

Group 2 and 4 and targets for education/training on resilience (not that group 3 can’ be helped, but focus on why they choose not to, rather than teaching them how to be resilient)

Question 7

Factors which can sustain resilience

Answer 7

• The ability to make realistic plans and being able to take the steps to follow through
• Positive self-concept and confidence in strengths and abilities
• Communication and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage impulses and feelings
• E.g. Ability Manage and realize emotional states (own and others), realize the emotions you are experiencing them and what they are, and how to share them = emotional intelligence)
• E.g. “i am angry, but I will cope by writing in my journal” = MANAGE piece

Ability to interact with environment in way that promotes wellbeing
Resilience is really about person’s ability to interact with environment, and processes involved with wellbeing and ability to access wellbeing promoting resources.

Question 8

Concept of Resilience (antecedents, consequences, Essential attributes)

Answer 8

A concept is abstract and comes from a combination of personal intuition and consistent evidence
• Antecedents
• Antecedent to being resilient = something that challenges the person/ any kind of adversity or challenge that someone faces - without it someone isn’t resilient, they’re just “holding steady”
• Consequences
• Consequence = positive adaptation (pretty much agreed upon) (not necessarily something is good - more some kind of personal growth, e.g. Better sense of self, more confidence in ability - you can go through something horrific, but you might still gain something good.
• Essential attributes
• When resilience seen as trait: Personal attributes that let you BE resilient, “protective factors”
• in process view, it is more about the individual/environment interaction, and how they can access/use resources

Question 9

How are Coping and Resilience different?

Answer 9

• Resilience influences how an event is appraised
• Resilience facilitates positive response to a stressful situation (not as in happy, but as in a beneficial response to a situation)
• Coping is the strategies used following appraisal of a stressful encounter
• Can be positive, but more reactional - resilient people more likely to use effective coping skills

Question 10

Theories (of resilience) and shared aspects

Answer 10

• The resiliency model (Richardson et al., 1990 and Richardson 2002)
• Nursing model of resilience (Polk 1997)
• Generic model of resilience in response to psychological trauma (Agaibi and Wilson, 2005)
• A grounded theory of personal resiliency (Denz-Penhey and Murdoch, 2008)
• Hypothesized model of resilience (Mancini and Bonanno, 2009)

Shared aspects:
Despite large number of theories, there are shared characteristics, incl:
• Dynamic process
• Seen as dynamic/processes that change over time
• Process is the interaction of a variety of factors
• Researchers emphasize/acknowledge that within the dynamic process, the interaction of a variety of factors determines if a person exhibits resilience.

Some theories emphasize temperament, some emphasize social support = why we have so many different theories (they might emphasize different factors) - all these different factors seem to agree on these shared aspects, but disagree in their emphasis on which factors are important, in explaining what is going on.

Because we have so many theories, there is a call for a more generic theory = richardson at al often cited for this.

Question 11

Richardson 2002 resilience model

Answer 11

Biopsychospiritual Homeostasis = Level that you inherently try to remain at - if nothing happens, you stay at this level

Then there might be Disruption = If some kind of disruption (e.g. Adverse life events exceed your normal protective factors), requires reintegration (many types of reintegration)
Disruption is necessary to reintegration to happen.

Disruption lead to reintegration:

Resilient reintegration = Idea that kind of a growth that happens after adversity (eg. More self confidence, learning a skill - something that bumps of homeostais level) - can happen immediately, or over time (does this apply to all reintegrations?) - if you think about one specific situation, e.g. Loss of loved one/other traumatic event - if you are able to reintegrate to homeostasis or scale up at a later date, you won’t have a step down unless other “traumas” enter the picture

Reintegration back to Homeostasis = No real change or loss - back to baseline

Reintegration with loss = Kind of a step down, you might lose of resilience

Dysfunctional reintegration = Whatever went on, leads to some kind of dysfunction (e.g. PTSD, MDD) - preventing you from moving back to your homeostatic level

This model is not necessarily linear, but gives an idea of how things progress in general.
OBS the horizontal lines really just highlight “maintenance”

Question 12

3 waves (from richardson model)

Answer 12

• First wave
• Identify qualities of individual who react positively when faced with adversity
• Second wave
• Looked at resilience in context of coping with stressors, adversity, change or opportunity
• Second wave also looks at how personal factor interact with environment
• Third wave
• Identification of motivational forces that drive individuals towards self-actualization
• E.g. The LINES that lead to e.g. Resilient reintegration (in the previous model)

Question 13

APA 10 ways to build resilience

Answer 13

• Maintain good relationships with close family members, friends and others
• Avoid seeing crisis or stressful events as unbearable
• Accept circumstances that cannot be changed
• Develop realistic goals and work towards them
• Take action in adverse situations
• Look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss
• Develop self-confidence
• Keep a long-term perspective and consider the stressful event in a broader context
• Maintain a hopeful outlook
• Take care of the mind and body and pay attention to your needs and feelings

Some guys in 2012 -
you wanna learn to idenitfy and face feeling and share with others
Learn to acknowledge and affirm your feelings and feelings of others.
Once those grasped = move on into problemsolving, and implement “learned blessings”, going forward.
Idneitfying and solving problems - ongoing reassesment of your prioritization of needs
And learn how to go forward.
How do they relate to this slide?
Different guys said different things, just a shorter list.