Glossary
Resilience
What is Resilience?
Resilience, in the context of behavioral science, refers to the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.
Resilience and recovery
Resilience concerns maintaining or regaining adaptive functioning in the context of adversity. Definitions vary across research traditions; it does not require rapid recovery or positive growth after trauma.
Key Aspects
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Adaptation to Adversity
Resilience is not the absence of distress or difficulty, but involves adaptive processes that help individuals cope with, recover from, or prevent adverse events.
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Resilience vs post-traumatic growth
Post-traumatic growth concerns perceived positive change following adversity and is distinct from resilience. A person can show resilience without reporting growth, and reports of growth do not necessarily mean that distress has ended.
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Dynamic Process
Resilience is not a fixed trait, but a dynamic process that can change over time and across different contexts. It depends on the person, the adversity, and the resources available.
Role in Behavioral Science
Resilience is a key concept in psychology and behavioral science, with significant implications for understanding and promoting mental health, well-being, and quality of life. It's often studied in relation to stress, trauma, adversity, and life transitions, such as divorce, job loss, or the death of a loved one.
Implications for Behavior Change
Understanding resilience can be crucial for interventions aimed at promoting mental health and well-being, preventing mental health disorders, and enhancing adaptation to stress and adversity. Supportive relationships, practical resources, and coping opportunities may help adaptation, but their effects depend on the situation. Claims that a resilience program prevents mental illness require evaluation of the program and its outcomes.