Development of A Resilient Individual KEL 2300 (4+0) DPM (PJJ) – FACE TO FACE 1 12 SEPTEMBER 2015 INSTRUCTOR: SITI NOR BINTI YAACOB, PhD. sitinor@upm.edu.my/012-2841844

SYNOPSIS OF COURSES This course focuses on the concept of resilience and elements that contribute towards the development of individual’s resilience. Cognitive competencies and emotional intelligence as the motivators of individual behavior and challenges to resiliency at each stage of individual’s development will also be discussed.

LEARNING OUTCOMES Explain the concept of resilience and its elements which contribute to the development of individual’s resilience (P2, A2) Describe the role of cognitive intelligence and emotional stability in stimulating personal behavior (CS, CTPS) Analyze challenges in every life stages of individual and its impacts towards the formation of resilience (C4, A3, LL)

COURSE ASSESSMENT NO. TYPE OF ASSESSMENT % Due 1. Test 1 25 2. Assignment (2) 35 3. Final exam 40 4. TOTAL 100

TOPIC1: Understanding of Resiliency 1.1 Definition of resilience 1.2 Characteristics of resilient individual 1.3 Resilience as coping

DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE Quality within people that we call resiliency Allows individuals to bounce back from setbacks (physical and psychological traumas) Achieving positive outcomes despite challenging or threatening circumstances (Brooks, 2006; Masten, 2001; Masten et al., 1991), coping successfully with traumatic experiences, and avoiding negative paths linked with risks (Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen, 1984; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000; Werner, 1992).

DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE Process, capacity or outcome of successful adaptation despite challenges or threatening circumstances Good outcomes despite high-risk status, sustained competence under threat and recovery from trauma (Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990, p.426)

CATEGORIES OF RESILIENCE NATURAL RESILIENCY LEARNED RESILIENCY Some people seems to possess resiliency from birth or at least from childhood There may be nothing in their environment or background that explain They may come from impoverished backgrounds or suffered neglect or abuse or move from home to another and had to assume family responsibility at a very early age Resiliency is learned and developed throughout a lifetime, from birth to death People are capable of becoming more resilient as they experience challenges and setbacks, but this is certainly not an automatic process How you handle loss, injury, grief, challenge (even positive changes), determines whether or not you will continue to grow more resilient

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL FIVE resilient attributes of CHILDREN: Social competence (Bernard, 1993, 1995) Empathy, caring, flexibility, communication skills, sense of humor Problem-solving skills Ability to think abstractly giving children the ability to generate alternative solutions for cognitive and social problem Planning and resourcefulness in seeking help from others Critical consciousness Having and insightful awareness of structures of cruelty (e.g. alcoholic parent) and generating strategies in overcoming them Autonomy (Bernard, 1993, 1995) Having a sense of his or her own identity, capability to act independently, and ability to exert some control over the environment Sense of purpose (Bernard, 1995) Having goals, educational aspirations, and a belief in a bright future

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL TEN components of resiliency: Un-ambivalent commitment to life Resilient people don’t waste time agonizing over whether or not life is worth living Resilient people know: it is Self-confidence Understand the world around them, set realistic goals to achieve in that world, and develop the skills required for doing so, to give them the strength to strive for their aspirations See problems and changes as opportunities for growth and learning, rather than threats or burdens to be avoided or shifted to someone else

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL TEN components of resiliency: Adaptability Can modify their habits to work with others, both personally and professionally Resourcefulness Know what resources are available for problem solving and where they can turn for support when they must have it Know where and how to find the help they need – even they don’t need if often Seek help from family, friends, co-workers, educational and spiritual institutions Creative and imaginative in the way they use resources to solve problems

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL TEN components of resiliency: Willingness to risk Not always possible to know the outcome of an action or a behavior Takes intelligent risks grounded in real possibilities and with a good chance for success Acceptance of personal responsibility Unwilling to claim victim status Don’t make excuses when make mistakes By owning their mistakes, they turn them into positive learning experiences

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL TEN components of resiliency: Perspective Know what is important and what is not Put energy into serious or core issues and activities Dismiss/ enjoy the inconsequential ones Openness to new ideas Take in new information eagerly and without excessive prejudgment Free of the rigidity which accompanies a narrow outlook on life Don’t close their minds to anything that would increase their capacity to learn and adapt

CHARACTERISTICS OF RESILIENT INDIVIDUAL TEN components of resiliency: Willingness to be proactive Proactive rather than reactive Meet challenge with positive action rather than waiting until the only recourse possible is a reaction to actions already taken by others Action-oriented Attentiveness Paying attention to the world around them When you speak to them they are listening Don’t shut out other voices

RESILIENT AS COPING Clauss-Ehlers (2004) presents the term “cultural resilience” as describing the degree to which the strengths of one’s culture promote the development of coping. Cultural resilience in development can pertain to how culture is associated with “good developmental outcomes despite high-risk status, sustained competence under stress, and recovery from trauma” (Werner, 1995, p.81)

RESILIENT AS COPING The sociocultural aspects of support promote adaptive coping which in turn promotes insight earlier on in one’s developmental history This aspect of the model suggests that culture and cultural values can promote positive coping behavior among youth from diverse backgrounds who face an array of adversities At the same time, having stressful experience may lead to adaptive or maladaptive coping which then influences whether insight occurs earlier or later in one’s development

RESILIENT AS COPING A basic interpretation of the notion of exposure might favor a banal form of intervention, one that seeks to resource young people (at the individual, family, school or community level) with some judicious exposure to nastiness in order to ‘steel’ them for later adversity While over protection and shielding of a young person does little to develop resilience, at the other end of the spectrum, too much exposure, too soon, risks overwhelming the young person and compromising a developing resilience

RESILIENT AS COPING Coping skills and resources are built in response to crisis, often within the context of one-on-one treatment. Dyer and McGuiness (1996) suggest a shifting balance between vulnerability and resilience with the balance in either direction being largely determined by how young people perceive their ability to manage and engage the risk setting

RESILIENT AS COPING Comprehensive interventions that maximize protective factors and decrease stress are important to help children be less vulnerable (Werner, 1995) Early intervention may promote early insight which is associated with the development of greater resilience Perhaps early insight is related to resilience not only because it gives youth awareness about their current struggles, but also because these early realizations will help them grapple with, better understand, and be more adaptive to overcome the problems that have yet to present themselves in the future.

RESILIENT AS COPING If you are alive, you need resiliency No life without setbacks, disappointments, failures Most of us want to lead vital, productive lives – want to face challenges with the hope that we can do more than survive them – yes, we want to bounce back If you want to achieve your personal goal, cope with personal and professional transitions, grow with your spouse, friends and family, love and be loved, and comeback from setbacks – you need resiliency

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF RESOURCES Individual-level resources Protective mechanism Constitutional resilience Positive temperament Robust neurobiology Sociability Responsiveness to others Pro-social attitudes Attachment to others Intelligence Academic achievement Planning and decision making Communication skills Developed language Advanced reading Personal attributes Tolerance for negative effect Self-efficacy Self-esteem Foundational sense of self Internal locus of control Sense of humour Hopefulness Strategies to deal with stress Enduring set of values Balanced perspective on experience Malleable and flexible Fortitude, conviction, tenacity, and resolve

DIFF LEVELS OF RESOURCES Family-level resources Protective mechanism Supportive families Parental warmth, encouragement, assistance Cohesion and care within the family Close relationship with a caring adult Belief in the child Non-blaming Marital support Talent or hobby valued by others Social environment-level resources Protective mechanism Socio-economic status Material resourced School experiences Supportive peers Positive teacher influences Success (academic or not) Supportive communities Believes the individual’s stress Non-punitive Provisions and resources to assist Belief in the values of a society

INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING RESILIENCE Measurements Instruments Children Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA; Naglieri & LeBuffle, 2005) -An examination of the child from positive and concern standpoints -An understanding of how protective factors impact the aged 2 through 5 child’s behavior -Date for intervention planning Adolescents Resilience Scale (RS; Wagnild & Young, 1993) -A personal competence -Acceptance of self and life Family functioning McMaster Family Assessment Device (Fredman & Sherman, 1987) -Problem solving, communication, roles, affective responsivenss, affective involvement, behavior control, general functioning Family Environment Scale (Tedeschi & Kilmer, 2005) -perceptions across relationship, personal growth, system maintenance

INSTRUMENTS FOR MEASURING RESILIENCE The Hardiness Scale (Kobasa, Maddi, & Kahn, 1982) Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS; Bartone, Ursano, Wright, & Ingraham, 1989) Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC; Connor & Davidson, 2003)