Title: 
Headings: IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT RESILIENCE: A CONSIDERATION OF  RESEARCH FINDINGS ABOUT RESILIENCE and IMPLICATIONS  FOR ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT Donald Meichenbaum, Ph.D. Research Director Melissa Institute  Miami, Florida www.melissainstitute.org www.teachsafeschools.org
Contact
 
Information
  

E-mail:
 
dhmeich@aol.com
  

What
 
is
 
Resilience?
  

THE
 
NATURE
 
OF
 
THE
 
CHALLENGE
 

WHAT
 
IS
 
RESILIENCE
 

SOME
 
FACTS
 
ABOUT
 
RESILIENCE
 

CDC
 
List
 
of
 
PROTECTIVE
 
FACTORS
 
FOR
 
YOUTH
 
VIOLENCE
 
(See
 
www.vetoviolence.org/pop)
 

SOCIAL
 
ECOLOGICAL
 
MODEL
 

At
 
the
 
Individual
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Relationship
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Community
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Societal
 
Level
 

LEVELS
 
OF
 
INTERVENTION
 

WAYS
 
TO
 
BOLSTER
 
RESILIENCE
 
IN
 
YOUTH
 

WEBSITES
 

RESILIENCE
 
IN
 
ADULTS:
 
LESSONS
 
TO
 
BE
 
LEARNED
 
FROM
  
RETURNING
 
SERVICE
 
MEMBERS
 
and
 
CIVILIAN
  
POPULATIONS:
 
ROADMAP
 
TO
 
RESILIENCE
 

Contact
 
Information
  

EVIDENCE
 
OF
 
RESILIENCE
 
IN
 
RETURNING
 
SERVICE
 
MEMBERS
 
AND
 
THEIR
 
FAMILY
 
MEMBERS
 

Psychological
 
Characteristics
 
of
 
Resilient
 
Individuals
 
Experience
  
Positive
 
Emotions
 
and
 
Regulate
 
Strong
 
Negative
 
Emotions
 

Adapt
 
a
 
Task-Oriented
 
Coping
 
Style
 

Be
 
Cognitively
 
Flexible
 

Undertake
 
a
 
Meaning-Making
 
Mission
 

Keep
 
Fit
 
and
 
Safe
 

At
 
the
 
Thinking
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Emotional
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Behavioral
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Social
 
Level
 

At
 
the
 
Spiritual
 
Level
 

MY
 
PERSONAL
 
RESILIENCE
 
PLAN
 

Creating
 
A
 
Vision
 
of
 
the
 
Future
 

P
 
-
 
-
 
PHYSICAL
 
FITNESS
 

I
 
-
 
-
 
INTERPERSONAL
 
FITNESS
 

E-
 
-
 
EMOTIONAL
 
FITNESS
 

T
 
-
 
-
 
THINKING
 
FITNESS
 

B-
 
BEHAVIORAL
  
FITNESS
 

S-
 
SPIRITUAL
 
FITNESS
 

REFERENCES
 

Lyubomirsky,
 
S.
 
(
 
2008).
 
The
 
how
 
of
 
happiness:
 
A
 
scientific
 
approach
 
to
 
getting
 
the
 
life
 
you
  


Content: Resilience
 
is
 
the
 
process
 
of
 
adapting
 
well
 
in
 
the
 
face
 
of
 
adversity,
 
trauma,
 
tragedy,
 
threats
 
or
 
significant
 
sources
 
of
 
stress. Resilience
 
is
 
not
 
a
 
trait
 
that
 
individuals
 
either
 
have
 
or
 
do
 
not
 
have. Resilience
 
involves
 
behaviors,
 
thoughts
 
and
 
accompanying
 
feelings
 
that
 
can
 
be
 
nurtured,
 
developed
 
and
 
learned. WHAT
 
IS
 
RESILIENCE
 
RESILIENCE
 
is
 
the
 
capacity
 
of
 
people
 
to
 
effectively
 
cope
 
with,
 
adjust,
 
or
 
recover
 
from
 
stress
 
or
 
adversity. RESILIENCE
 
is
 
the
 
process
 
and
 
outcome
 
of
 
successfully
 
adapting
 
to
 
difficult
 
or
 
challenging
 
life
 
experiences
 
and
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 
rise
 
above
 
one’s
 
circumstances. RESILIENCE
 
reflects
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 
confront
 
and
 
handle
 
stressful
 
life
 
events,
 
ongoing
 
adversities
 
and
 
difficulties,
 
and
 
traumatic
 
experiences,
 
both
 
while
 
deployed
 
and
 
also
 
when
 
reintegrating
 
into
 
civilian
 
life. RESILIENCE
 
reflects
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 
maintain
 
a
 
stable
 
equilibrium
 
and
 
relatively
 
stable
 
healthy
 
level
 
of
 
psychological
 
and
 
physical
 
functioning,
 
even
 
in
 
the
 
face
 
of
 
highly
 
disruptive
 
stressful
 
and
 
traumatic
 
events. RESILIENCE
 
reflects
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 

 
bounce
 
back
 


 
beat
 
the
 
odds
  


  
transform
 
one’s
 
emotional
 
and
 
physical
 
pain
 
into
 
something
 
“positive”
 


 
evidence
 
a
 
relatively
 
stable
 
trajectory
 
of
 
healthy
 
functioning
 
across
 
time
 


 
move
 
from
 
being
 
a
 
victim
 
to
 
being
 
a
 
“survivor”
 
and
 
even
 
to
 
becoming
 
a
 
“thriver”
 


 
be
 
“stress
 
hardy”
 
adapting
 
to
 
whatever
 
life
 
sends,
 
and
 
for
 
some,
 
even
 
evidencing
  
  
“post-
 
traumatic
 
growth”
 

As
 
a
 
result
 
of
 
experiencing
 
traumatic
 
events,
 
some
 
individuals
 
will
 
experience
 
POST-
TRAUMATIC
 
GROWTH
 
(PTG). PTG
 
is
 
the
 
ability
 
to
 
experience
 
positive
 
personal
 
changes
 
that
 
result
 
from
 
the
 
struggle
 
to
 
deal
 
with
 
trauma
 
and
 
its
 
consequences. PTG
 
highlights
 
that
 
strengths
 
can
 
emerge
 
through
 
suffering
 
and
 
struggles
 
with
 
adversities.