Apr 1, 2008

HEALTH MATTERS: Resilience can be improved upon

By LJ Anderson / Daily News Columnist

No one asks for adversity but a difficult event or circumstance will eventually find us. It may occur early in life with the death of a parent, abandonment, or being victimized by violence. It may occur years later when confronted with the death of a child, spouse or an unexpected illness. Resilience is a determining factor in how well a person weathers these challenges, and the good news is that humans have an inherent capacity for resilience that can be individually strengthened and developed in our children and in ourselves.
Developmental psychologist Edith Grotberg, Ph.D., has done research worldwide on resilience. She was a senior scientist at the Civitan International Research Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, and has taught at George Washington University, American University and the Ahfad University for Women in Omdurman, Sudan. Grotberg is the author of numerous books including, "Tapping Your Inner Strength: How to Find the Resilience to Deal with Anything."



Q: How did you become interested in the subject?

A: While still in government in 1982 (as director of research for the Administration of Children, Youth and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services), I received a book from (developmental psychologist) Emmy Werner which included the word "resilience," and was asked to review it for possible inclusion in one of our announcements. I read it with awe. It reported on Werner's work in Hawaii as she studied children from one of the poorest islands there and found what she did not call resilience, but recognized as sustaining these children and contributing to a happy life in spite of the poverty, illness and all the negatives. I was so tired of poor people being labeled with negative attributes so I was ready for the shock of good news. In 1982 my husband and I decided to go to Sudan, Africa, to teach at the University for Women, and I began research on resilience there. However, by the 1990s, it became clear that I needed to do broader research, and the International Resilience Project was born - with data gathered from 27 sites in 22 countries.

Q: How resilient are children, and can parents help develop resiliency in their children?

A: Resilience is a human capacity to deal with, overcome, learn from, or even be transformed by the inevitable adversities of life. With that definition, we know that we already have the capacity. The challenge is to promote resilience so that it is there when needed to face adversities. And starting with children is highly desirable - assuming parents or other adults are already resilient. The resilience that I found in my research lent itself easily to three categories: I HAVE, I AM and I CAN, which include characteristics inherent in resilience.

1) I HAVE (external supports): one or more persons within my family I can trust and who love me without reservation; one or more persons outside my family I can trust without reservation; limits to my behavior; people who encourage me to be independent; good role models; access to health, education, and the social and security services I need; and a stable family and community.

2) I AM (inner strengths): a person most people like; generally calm and good-natured; an achiever who plans for the future; a person who respects myself and others; empathic and caring of others; responsible for my behavior and accepting of the consequences; and a confident, optimistic, hopeful person, with faith.

3) I CAN (interpersonal and problem-solving skills): generate new ideas or new ways to do things; stay with a task until it is finished; see the humor in life and use it to reduce tensions; express thoughts and feelings in communication with others; solve problems in various settings - academic, job-related, personal and social; manage my behavior - feelings, impulses, acting out; and reach out for help when I need it.

These factors are used in dynamic resilience with each other, changing as needed, to address the adversity. These are clearly for adults as well as children.


Q: What happens to children and adults who are not resilient?

A: They have the capacity but no one has helped them promote it. Those who are not resilient are more likely to be a victim of adversity than to deal with it. Parents and teachers are the critical ones to begin promoting it if the child is not becoming resilient. What are the supports? What is being done to build inner strengths? What social and problem-solving skills are being taught?



LJ Anderson writes on health matters every Tuesday. She can be reached at lj.anderson@yahoo.com.