What is resilience Resilient children are better equipped
What is resilience? Resilient children are better equipped to resist stress and adversity, cope with change and uncertainty, and to recover faster and more completely from traumatic events or episodes. Tony Newman and Sarah Blackburn
Three types of resilient child • Children who do not succumb to adversity in spite of their high risk status • Children who develop coping strategies in situations of chronic stress • Children who have suffered extreme trauma and who recover and prosper Masten, A et al (1990)
Resilience Factors in Child • Being loveable/endearing /easy temperament • Emotional competence- the capacity to understand their own and others emotions and to self regulate • Sense of competence and self-efficacy- this includes having an internal locus of control, a capacity to plan and a repertoire of problem solving skills • Intelligence, reflective and communication skills and in particular the capacity to identify positives even in adverse experiences
• Self esteem and a positive self concept • Capacity to identify and engage in trusting relationships with adults and peers. • A commitment to educational achievement and in particular an enjoyment of reading for pleasure • Talents and interests • Meaningful roles- this includes the opportunity for employment, achievement and responsibility for others • A positive value base and belief and hope in other people and the future • Sense of humour-particularly the capacity to laugh at one self
Pre-existing vulnerabilities for the child • Difficult temperament, irritability • Factors that interfere with reflective capacity- learning difficulties, some disabilities, communication problems, attachment difficulties • Factors that can affect competence and self efficacy such as physical illness, academic failure, physical disability, lack of opportunity, or poverty • Factors that affect self esteem and capacity to manage relationships such as family difficulties, discrimination or compromised parenting (Through illness, criminality, substance misuse or the impact of their own trauma)
Protective factors in family or community • Absence of severe parental discord • • At least one good parent child relationship Affection and warmth Positive role models Support for education Structure and authoritative supervision Wide support network Positive school environment (high academic and non academic opportunities) • Opportunities for sport and leisure • Access to good health care
Educational achievement and adult outcomes High Achievers Comparison Group 2. 6% 72. 7% Lone mothers 3. 8% 41. 7% In custody 0% 18. 2% Homeless 2. 6% 22. 7% Unemployed Adapted from Jackson and Martin 1998
Assessing Resilience I HAVE I AM I CAN Trusting and loving relationships with others Loveable Communicate Structure at home Loving Solve problems Role models Proud of myself Manage my feelings Encouragement to be independent Responsible Understand my temperament Access to health, education and social care Hopeful and trustful Seek out trusting relationships Adapted from Grotberg 1997.
Emotional literacy …the ability to understand ourselves and other people, and in particular to be aware of, understand, and use information about the emotional states of ourselves and others with competence. It includes the ability to understand, express and manage our own emotions, and respond to the emotions of others, in ways that are helpful to ourselves and others. Developing the Emotionally Literate School (Weare 2004)
Self-understanding • Having an accurate and positive view of ourselves • Having a sense of optimism about the world and ourselves • Having a coherent and continuous life story Emotional literacy K Weare 2004
Understanding, expressing and managing our emotions • Experiencing, understanding and being able to express and manage a whole range of emotions • Using information about emotions to plan and solve problems • Resilience: processing and bouncing back from difficult experiences Emotional literacy K Weare 2004
Understanding social situations and making relationships • Forming attachments to other people • Experiencing empathy for others • Communicating and responding effectively to others • Managing our relationships effectively • Being autonomous: independent and self-reliant Emotional literacy K Weare 2004
Orchids and dandelions – a new twist on resilience • Dandelion children are those who are able to survive and thrive in sub-optimal environments • Orchid children react very strongly and negatively to poor environments BUT they do better than their dandelion peers in optimal environments • When orchid children from difficult backgrounds are offered effective interventions they respond better than their dandelion peers from the same environments even though the dandelion children were initially less negatively affected
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