Transcript What is resilience?

What Is Resilience?
Dr. Gill Windle
Research Fellow
Dementia Services Development Centre
Bangor University
19th May 2009
Psychological Resilience
The individual as a source of resilience
• The well-being paradox – how do people maintain wellbeing when other areas of their lives are less than
desirable?
Rating of overall physical
health
1.0
Poor
Fair
Self ratings of health status
according to actual levels
levels of ill health
Good
Excellent
Proportion
0.8
Community based sample
(n=1847 from England,
Scotland & Wales aged 50+)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
Low
Source: ESAW data
High
Chronic Illness
Psychological Resilience
Do psychological resources operate as explanatory
mechanisms?
•
Resilience – the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change
•
Personality/psychological resources that enable positive functioning
•
Resilient individuals have been found to possess a range of inner
psychological attributes – indicators of resilience
•
Other research that has examined the role of resources such as mastery, self
esteem, optimism, has conceptualised these as the basis of reserve capacity
that provides a resilient basis in older age (Gallo, Bogart, Vranceanu &
Mathews, 2005).
Psychological Resilience
•
Within personality research such constructs are often examined in isolation, and little
attention has been given to the possibility that they might share a common basis
(Judge, Erez, Thoresen & Bono, 2002).
Self Esteem
Competence
Interpersonal
Control
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X2= 346.29, p<0.01
RMSEA =.04
CFI = .97
SRMR=.04
α = .83
Windle, G., Markland, D. A., & Woods, B. (2008).
Examination of a theoretical model of psychological
resilience in older age. Aging & Mental Health 12(3), 285292.
Psychological
Resilience
Psychological resilience and the well-being
paradox
Interaction between chronic illness and resilience
age 60-69
Source: Windle, G., Woods, B., &
Markland, D.A. (In Press) Living with illhealth in olderage: the role of a resilient
personality. Journal of Happiness Studies.
Interaction between material resources and
resilience age 50-59
Source: Windle, G. (2006). PhD
Thesis.
Limitations
• Data is cross sectional
• Constraints of secondary data analysis
• Theoretically plausible, but represents just
one of many approaches to resilience in
older age
• Older people with cognitive
impairment/dementia not included
Planned Research
Maintaining Function and Well-Being: A Longitudinal
Cohort Study (ESRC, £3.9m)
•
How do the characteristics of the resilient differ from the
non-resilient?
• What is the influence of cognitive impairment on the
relationship of resilience and well-being?
• Does resilience at the initial assessment predict later
adaptation regardless of the presence of cognitive
impairment?
• Do earlier life experiences impact on the development of
resilience?