The Social Ecology of Resilience A Handbook of Theory and Practice [Paperback]

More than two decades after Michael Rutter (1987) published his summary of protective processes associated with resilience, researchers continue to report definitional ambiguity in how to define and operationalize positive development under adversity. The problem has been partially the result of a dominant view of resilience as something individuals have, rather than as a process that families, schools,communities and governments facilitate. Because resilience is related to the presence of social risk factors, there is a need for an ecological interpretation of the construct that acknowledges the importance of peoples interactions with their environments. The Social Ecology of Resilience provides evidence for this ecological understanding of resilience in ways that help to resolve both definition and measurement problems.

The dominant view of resilience is as something individuals possess rather than as a process that can be facilitated. This book provides evidence for the ecological understanding of resilience in ways that help resolve both definition and measurement problems.

I. Introduction to the Theory.-Social Ecologies and their Contribution to Resilience.-Resilience: Causal Pathways and Social Ecology.-Theory and Measurement of Resilience: Views from Development.-Resilience and Children's Work in Brazil: Lesson from Physics for Psychology.-II. Five Interviews.-An Interview with Macalane Malindi: The Impact of Education and Changing Social Policy on Resilience During Apartheid and Post-Apartheid in South Africa.-An Interview with Bill Strickland: How Community-based Adult Educational Facilities can Lift People out of Poverty in Urban America.-An Interview with Jude Simpson: Growing Beyond a Life of Abuse and Gang Involvement in New Zealand.-An Interview with Vicki Durrant: Creating a Community Program for High-Risk Aboriginal Youth in Canada's North.-An Interview with Arn Chorn-Pond: Helping Children in Cambodia Through the Revival ol£&