Abstract
Introduction
Resilience in Children, Adolescents, and Adults: Translating Research Into Practice, edited by Sandra Prince-Embury and Donald H. Saklofske, provides a comprehensive overview of the study of resilience. The scope of this book ranges from definitions and assessment to intervention and outcomes. With the increased interest in the concept of resilience in psychology over the past 50 years, this book has the potential to become a useful resource for psychologists and researchers in the field of resilience. Prince-Embury and Saklofske intend this book to present a variety of resilience definitions for the purpose of enhancing the practical usefulness of this construct. Furthermore, existing tools that have been developed to assess resiliency are examined, along with cultural factors to consider when applying the construct of resilience in research and clinical work.
Content and Structure
The book is organized into four major sections that cover the conceptualizations of resilience and resiliency as well as their applications to assessment and intervention across the life span. The book dedicates substantial space to the debate between the similar yet separate concepts. For example, resilience can be defined as the complex interaction between a person and his or her environment, whereas resiliency focuses on the ability to bounce back in the face of adversity. Both are very contextually based, relying on rich understandings of the individual’s environmental surroundings to provide appropriate interventions. The first section of the book begins by describing the progression and complexities that are related to the study of resiliency over the past half-century. In these chapters, Prince-Embury provides the reader with an overview and discussion of the numerous constructs and models of resilience and resiliency, while discussing the challenges of transforming those constructs into practical assessment tools.
The second section of the book presents updated and more in-depth discussions on the assessment of resiliency and intervention practices as they relate to children and adolescents. Some of these key topic themes were earlier published in a special issue of Canadian Journal of School Psychology (Prince-Embury, 2008), titled “Resiliency: Translating Theory Into Application for Children and Adolescents,” guest edited by Prince-Embury. Three chapters in this section describe assessment and screening tools used to identify the personal attributes of the individual child that promote resiliency (Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents [RSCA]; Devereux Suites of Assessment) along with a population-based model to assess resiliency as a characteristic of the school context (ClassMaps Consultation Framework). Each of the chapters describing these assessment methods includes psychometric evidence, settings in which their use is appropriate, and intervention implications to accompany assessment results. Three further chapters follow with a focus on resilience theory for application with children. Specifically, Goldstein and colleagues call for adults who are involved in the lives of children to nurture resilience through their own practices, and Mallin and colleagues speak to the importance of supporting resilience to promote mental health within the school setting. The section concludes with a discussion of resilience in lifelong childhood disorders, and includes an exemplary case study of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
The third part of the book focuses on the assessment and application of resiliency in youth and adults. Four resiliency assessment tools for adolescents and adults are discussed in this section: Ego-Resiliency Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, Resilience Scale (RS), and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CDRS). Unique to this section is the discussion of concepts related to resiliency, such as Block’s ego-resiliency and Bandura’s self-efficacy, which are examined in the first two chapters of the section, and core self-evaluations, which is presented by Elliott and colleagues. The section proceeds with an analysis by Smith and colleagues about the critical resources that are needed when resilience is defined as “bouncing back from stress.” Next, the RSCA is revisited and an adapted version that is intended for use with college-aged young adults is evaluated. The section concludes with a theoretical exploration of resilience as it applies to the capacity of humans to cope with disasters and a case study to illustrate a resilience intervention for disaster-struck communities.
The fourth and final section of the book concentrates on cultural and systemic considerations that researchers and clinicians must consider in the resilience field. In the first chapter of the section, the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) is described as a tool based on the assumption that resilience reflects an interactive process between individuals and their contextual environment. Next, the RSCA is revisited using a sample of Kenyan youth living in extremely adverse conditions. Considerations for building resilience in Hispanic preschool children are also presented. Furthermore, Bowman reviews the existing literature to present an integrative strengths-based, social-psychological approach to theory and assessment of and interventions for resiliency. The section ends with a chapter illustrating how Bowen’s theory can be applied to the concept of systemic resilience. Finally, Prince-Embury and Saklofske conclude the volume with an epilogue summing up the existing consensus in defining personal resilience and calling for more research into this very complex construct.
Critique
The target audience of this volume includes both researchers studying resilience and practitioners wanting to implement programs or interventions that are intended to promote resilience. This book will be especially useful for school-based mental health professionals as many of the contextual considerations are targeted to the school environment. A benefit of the writing level of this book is that it is not necessary to have a thorough or advanced understanding of the concepts of resilience or resiliency to make use of this book. Each chapter begins with a brief overview of the current state of the research and the particular definitions of resilience used by the authors as it relates to the topic of the chapter.
One of the strengths of this book, aiding in the understanding of resilience/resiliency assessment and intervention, is the use of case studies throughout. Many of the chapters include a case study to illustrate how the assessment of resilience combined with theory can inform intervention. This addition has the potential to be very useful to novice clinicians or professionals who are just being introduced to the concept of resilience assessment and intervention in their practice. In addition, the book provides a review of a variety of assessment tools that professionals and researchers can evaluate critically for their personal use. Another area of strength for this book is its inclusion of resilience theory and assessment measures across the life span, expanding the audience for which the book is relevant and useful. An additional strength of this book is its simplicity. The inclusion of definitions and examples allows for those who are novice to the area of resiliency to both understand and find use in the information provided.
Although the editors attain their goal of presenting many of the existing resilience and resiliency constructs, they state in the epilogue that it was their intention to present conceptualizations for the reader to make informed choices on how best to use the constructs. A brief evaluation of some of the major constructs may be beneficial for new researchers or clinicians who are trying to make such a decision. Because most of the chapters discuss the challenge of resilience research, the inevitable—though somewhat repetitive—overlap may also be considered as a growing consensus in this field.
As this is an edited book with several major sections, each chapter tends to focus on a particular topic within the broader context of resiliency. The book has the potential to be a valuable reference tool for specific topics, such as choosing an assessment tool, but may also be limited because of its focus on specific populations and its showcasing of resilience applications research in at-risk groups (e.g., Hispanic preschoolers). Any book of this kind will be limited in the extent of its universal and encyclopedic coverage. For example, there is little mention made of religion or spirituality factors, and community groups and support are only mentioned briefly in the chapter describing Bowen’s systems theory. Overall, this book is a useful resource on resiliency, integrating existing theories and constructs of resilience, assessment, and intervention for use by practicing psychologists and resilience researchers alike. In particular, the book allows readers to quickly review existing assessment tools and decide which may be most appropriate for their practice. Although some readers may require a more complete theoretical framework of resilience and resiliency, the volume is an excellent resource for clinicians and researchers beginning to incorporate the concepts of resilience and resiliency in their professional work.