Resiliency and Children's Well-Being

What is resiliency?

            Resiliency refers to an individual’s ability to resist, recover and cope with adverse difficulties.  Resilience in an individual can develop at any stage in his or her life cycle. Among these qualities that an individual develops through life experience associated with resilience include self-esteem, self-efficacy, initiative, trust, attachment, autonomy, and identity. These abilities to cope with serious difficulties can be retained into a person’s adult life to safeguard the person against problems in the future (In Rhodes & In Brown, 1991).

What factors contribute to or impede resiliency?

            There are various risk factors that impede or a child from developing resiliency. Studies indicate that the more risk factors a child has in hi s or her life, the difficult it is for that child to develop the capacity to successfully adapt to a serious difficulty. These risk factors comprise of personal or individual risk factors and environmental risk factors. Personal risk factors include early childhood sickness, challenging temperament, and disability. Environmental risk factors comprise of child abuse, attachment problems such lack of trust, parental divorce, parental drug and substance abuse, harsh discipline, living in overcrowded areas, and lack of supervision or monitoring (Moltz, 2008). Protective factors that contribute to resiliency include providing unconditional love, encouraging open communication, recognizing failure as an opportunity, encouraging a child to accept responsibility of work, behavior and attitude, helping to identify, express and manage a child’s feelings, discussing feelings, and seeking help (In Rhodes & In Brown, 1991).

How can information about resiliency be utilized to support children and families in crisis?

            Information about resiliency enables a person to use the resiliency qualities to develop a plan for the family to develop their resiliency traits. Information about resiliency allows an individual to focus this the strengths-based plan on difficulties a family seeks to address including those that the family needs to work on to increase their resiliency to make them empowered and self-sufficient. Information about resiliency can be used to support families and children under crisis by assisting them developing, acknowledging and enhancing protective factors or strengths. Through resiliency information, a child or family can learn new skills to become resilient, and develop into a productive and healthy person (Pulley & Wakefield, 2001).

How can information about resiliency be used to promote healthy development and well-being?

            As an individual’s ability to accept and overcome adverse challenges or circumstances, resiliency is a natural and fundamental characteristic that essential to a person’s well-being. It can be used by parents who initiate a strength-based approach to empower and enhance a child’s ability to overcome challenges. Information about resiliency can further be used to assist a child to develop confidence and self esteem in addition to other positive traits and strengths to safeguard children from risk well-being factors in their environment (Pulley & Wakefield, 2001).   

How has your definition of children's well-being continued to expand and deepen?

            My definition of children’s well-being has expanded this week because I have known that well-being is linked with resiliency, which determines an individual’s ability to resist, recover and cope with adverse circumstances in life. Learning about resiliency has deepened my knowledge about well-being with respect to personal and environmental factors that impede resiliency, which can cause a person develop unhealthy behavior and affect their well-being.

Reference

In Rhodes, W. A., & In Brown, W. K. (1991). Why some children succeed despite the odds. 

Moltz, B. J. (2008). Bounce!: Failure, resiliency, and confidence to achieve your next great            success. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.  

Pulley, M. L., & Wakefield, M. (2001). Building resiliency: How to thrive in times of change.        Greensboro, N.C: Center for Creative Leadership.