DOWNLOAD MY CLASSNOTES IN PDF: PP 11 Resilience
WHAT IS RESILIENCE?
Psychological resilience is the ability to bounce back from negative events. Need for a study among street boys of Nairobi: when they get back to mainstream education why do they perform consistently better than their younger ‘normal’ counterparts?
Three Categories of Protective Factors (Garmezy, 1983):
- Dispositional attributes of the child: children themselves were easy to relate to, felt good about themselves, believed they were in control of their lives, and were self-reliant.
- Family cohesion and warmth: a child experienced a warm relationship with at least one adult family member, the family felt close, and order and organization were in evidence.
- Use of external support systems by parents and children, in the neighbourhood or elsewhere in the community.
Broadening and Building Theory in relation to Resilience:
- When we focus on positivity, we have energy to creatively explore..
- Broadening: As we explore, we acquire more resources (human, social, psychological, material).
- Building: These resources, which last beyond the emotions that led one to explore and attain them, are used to further personal development.
- The positive resources stand by us during time of adversity, building resilience!