According to the American Psychological Association, resilience is the process of positive adaptation to difficult life experiences. Originally borrowed from material physics, the concept has undergone significant evolution in the psychological field. But what does it truly mean to be resilient, and what benefits does it offer in our lives?
+
Resilience as adaptation and life strategy
How important is adaptation in evolution?
Evolution is based on adaptation, requiring a continuous balance between natural drives for stability and change. Biologically, adaptation determines the survival capabilities of species in ever-changing environments and ensures the genetic variability necessary for life through mutation and natural selection.
From a psychological and human perspective, adaptation allows us to respond effectively to challenges and changes, developing emotional, cognitive, and behavioral flexibility, and to evolve in the face of significant cultural and technological transformations, fostering innovation, creativity, and collective learning.
Why do we need resilience so much today?
Today, we strongly need resilience because our world is changing very rapidly, with major technological, social, natural, and geopolitical transformations. In our era, we need to develop strong digital resilience, enabling us to face the challenges of the technological revolution, such as online risks, hyperconnectivity, technoference, phubbing, or anxiety about AI’s impact on our lives.
The increasing digitalization is also revolutionizing the world of work, demanding resilience, by updating both technical and emotional-relational skills. Resilience is also crucial to prevent social isolation and counter loneliness. Research in neuro-psychopedagogy by the Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti has shown how resilience contributes to a sense of peace and enables a greater connection with oneself and others, becoming a bridge of empathy and sensitivity, where care and attention are directed both inwardly and outwardly, in an expanded human dimension.
Bibliography
-
Bonanno, G. A., Westphal, M., & Mancini, A. D. (2011). Resilience to loss and potential trauma. Annual review of clinical psychology, 7, 511–535. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104526
- Cyrulnik, B., & Seron, C. (eds.). (2003). Resilience or how to be reborn from suffering?. Faber.
-
Di Giuseppe, T., Perasso, G., Mazzeo, C., Maculan, A., Vianello, F., & Paoletti, P. (2022). Envisioning the future: A neuropsycho-pedagogical intervention on resilience predictors among inmates during the pandemic. Ricerche Di Psicologia. OpenAccess. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3280/rip2022oa14724 Link: https://journals.francoangeli.it/index.php/ripoa/article/view/1472
- Garmezy, N., & Masten, A. S. (1986). Stress, competence, and resilience: Common frontiers for therapist and psychopathologist. Behavior therapy, 17(5), 500-521.
- Grotberg, E. H. (1995). A guide to promoting resilience in children: Strengthening the human spirit (Vol. 8). The Hague, Netherlands: Bernard van leer foundation.
- Hunter, A. J., & Chandler, G. E. (1999). Adolescent resilience. Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 31(3), 243-247.
- Luthar, S. S., & Becker, B. E. (2002). Privileged but pressured? A study of affluent youth. Child development, 73(5), 1593–1610. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00492
- Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford publications.
- Osborn, A. F. (1990). Resilient children: A longitudinal study of high achieving socially disadvantaged children. Early Child Development and Care, 62(1), 23-47.
-
Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Serantoni, G. (2019), Promoting Human resilience through the pedagogy for the third millennium, The 5th International Conference on Mental Health and Human Resilience. March 07-08, 2019, Barcelona, Spain.
- Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Dotan Ben-Soussan, T., Serantoni, G., (2019) Prefiguring the future: an educational project to strengthen resilience and hope in individuals and communities facing natural disasters. The 5th International Conference on Mental Health and Human Resilience. March 07-08, Barcelona, Spain.
-
Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Lillo, C., Anella, S., Santinelli, A. (2022). The Ten Keys to Resilience.
Link: https://fondazionepatriziopaoletti.org/10-chiavi-resilienza/
- Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Lillo, C., Serantoni, G., Perasso, G., Maculan, A., & Vianello, (2022). Resilience in the juvenile justice system during the pandemic: a study and training experience based on the spherical model of consciousness with a group of educators. Narrare i Gruppi. Open Access. Link: https://www.narrareigruppi.it/index.php?journal=narrareigruppi&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=07.07.2022&path%5B%5D=pdf_214
-
Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Lillo, C., Dotan Ben-Soussan, T., Bozkurt, A., Tabibnia, G., Kelmendi, K., Warthe, G.W., Leshem, R., Bigo, V., Ireri, A., Mwangi, C., Bhattacharya, N., Perasso, G. (2022). What can we learn from the Covid-19 pandemic? Resilience for the future and neuropsychopedagogical insights. Frontiers in Psychology. Open Access. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993991 Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.993991/full
- Paoletti, P., Di Giuseppe, T., Lillo, C., Serantoni, G., Perasso, G., Maculan, A., & Vianello, F. (2023). Training spherical resilience in educators of the juvenile justice system during pandemic. World Futures, 1-18
- Perasso, G., Serantoni, G., Lillo, C., Paoletti, P., Maculan, A., Vianello, F., & Di Giuseppe, T. (2024). Resilience predictors in the post-pandemic era: A study on Italian adolescents. Ricerche Di Psicologia – Open Access, (4). https://doi.org/10.3280/rip2023oa18275
- Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. (2006). Greater strengths of character and recovery from illness. The journal of positive psychology, 1(1), 17-26.
- Russo, S. J., Murrough, J. W., Han, M. H., Charney, D. S., & Nestler, E. J. (2012). Neurobiology of resilience. Nature neuroscience, 15(11), 1475-1484.
- Seligman, M. E. (2011). Building resilience. Harvard business review, 89(4), 100-106.
- Ungar, M. (Ed.). (2011). The social ecology of resilience: A handbook of theory and practice. Springer Science & Business Media.
- Vanistendael, S. (2007). Resilience and spirituality. Resilience in palliative care: Achievement in adversity, 2007, 115-135.
- Vanistendael, S., Gaberan, P., Humbeeck, B., Lecomte, J., Manil, P., & Rouyer, M. (2013). Resilience and humor. Gedisa Editorial
- Werner, Emmy E.; Bierman, Jessie M.; French, Fern E., The children of Kauai: A longitudinal study from the prenatal period to age ten, University of Hawaii Press, 197
- Yehuda R. (2004). Risk and resilience in posttraumatic stress disorder. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 65 Suppl 1, 29–36.
Let's train emotional intelligence: what emotion does this article arouse in you?
