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24 MAY 2010
NO 1581
Resilience
Resilience is a concept that is increasingly gaining currency as a basis for practice with children and young people. The concept, however, is not easy to define and the term is often used loosely or uncritically so that the implications for practice are unclear. This paper will give a brief overview of the concept, describe some of the pitfalls of its uncritical use and set out a framework for practice. Resilience will be described both as a concept that can help assess a child°s potential strengths and as a framework for practice. Much of what is indicated for practice is what practitioners and carers already do; however, the concept of resilience helps to set a conceptual framework around that work and provides a theoretical basis for what, in many cases, seems like common sense (Daniel, Wassell and Gilligan, 1999)....
...It is important to consider some of the potential problems with an uncritical approach to resilience. First, the concept can be criticised as being a very complex way of expressing 'good parenting'. Effective parenting should enable children to develop the qualities that equip them to cope with difficulties but such parenting is not usually described as a process of ‘promoting resilience'. Nonetheless, the concept of resilience does resonate with professionals who work with children who have been abused or neglected. Practitioners can identify differences in vulnerability amongst the young people they encounter and are often struck by the specific quality of resilience that some young people appear to possess that seems to be have developed despite the absence of 'good parenting'.
Second, expressions such as 'children are resilient' and ‘children bounce back’ are often used, but can be unhelpful when they negate the extent of upset and hurt that children can experience. As Rutter (1985) indicates, resilience is a relative concept. It is important to avoid assuming that it is a fixed attribute, and children who appear to cope in some circumstances may not cope with others. For example, a child may adapt to a change in school, but not with moving away from a close friend. It is also dangerous to make the assumption that just because a child appears to be coping well he or she is not in fact suffering internal distress and developing unhelpful coping strategies and defences. Luthar (1991) carried out some important research in this area that showed that some adolescents who appeared to be coping well showed, when carefully assessed, some signs of depression and anxiety So, the important message is that assumptions should not be made that a child is coping and it should certainly not be assumed that children are, or indeed should, be resilient....
....The concept of resilience increasingly offers an alternative framework for intervention, the focus being on the assessment of potential areas of strength within the young person’s whole system. The approach focuses on maximising the likelihood of a better outcome for young people by building a protective network around them. As suggested, much of the practice that is indicated by taking a resilience-led approach may not be markedly different from the kind of activities that residential staff are carrying out already; however, it is often the kind of work that is 'squeezed in' or seen as a luxury. If staff are armed with the evidence base that the concept of resilience presents, they are in a stronger position to make the case for the time and resources to incorporate such approaches into the heart of their work with young people.
BRIGID DANIEL
Daniel, B. (2003). The value of resilience as a
concept for practice in residential settings. Scottish Journal of
Residential Child Care, 2, 1. pp. 6-8 and 14-15.
REFERENCES
Daniel, B.; Wassell S. and Gilligan, R. (1999). "It's just common sense isn't it?": Exploring ways of putting the theory of resilience into action. Adoption and Fostering, 23, 3. pp. 6-15.
Luthar, S.S. (1991). Vulnerability and resilience: A study of high-risk adolescents. Child Development, 62. pp. 600-612.
Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 147. pp. 598-611.
