Psychological Resilience

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Psychological Resilience

Resilience is defined as positive psychological adaptation in the face of change.

According to APA Dictionary, ‘’resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experience, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands“ (American Psychological Association).

There are three related uses of the term resilience (Lepore & Revenson, 2006, pp. 25.27):

Recovery: a form of resilience which refer to the return to a normal, pre-stressor level of functioning (health and psycho-social well-being).
Resistance: a form of resilience which occurs when a person displays minimum or no signs of disturbance (low distress, normal functioning( following a challenging event.
Reconfiguration: a form of resilience which occurs when a person returns to homeostasis in a different formation with key aspects of that individual changing as a result of their experience.

Some of the indicators of a resilient person are the following (see the Guide):

able to show positive adaptation in the face of adversity;
able to rebound;
able to function despite prolonged exposure to stressors and disadvantages;
flexible;
able to make and maintain supportive relationships;
reflective;
has problem-solving skills;
able to plan;
seeks to help;
able to act independently;
has goals;
persistent;
takes risks;
optimistic;
able to regulate his or her emotions and interact more effectively in social environments;
has a higher sense of control and internal locus of control.