1. Building Resilience in our Children and Youth: Bringing Research to Practice and Practice to Policy
Caroline Burnley, Ph.D.
Director, Resilience Research Lab
Department of Psychology

3. Resilience in Health Care
Be PROACTIVE and focus on PREVENTION
Can we PREPARE children, youth and families to successfully navigate through adversities?

4. The Role of Resilience SHIFT vulnerability/disorder to
resources, strengths, positive outcomes
Build capacity rather than just relieve
disorder?

5. Resilience The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling,
but in rising every
time we fall.
―Nelson Mandela

6. Defining Resilience
Capacity of a dynamic system to adapt successfully to disturbances that threaten system function viability or development (Masten, 2014).

7. Risks/Adaptation Chronic poverty Physical or psychological illness
Violence
Abuse, neglect
Divorce
Discrimination, social marginalization
Natural disasters
Wars, political violence
Pandemics

8. Patterns of Resilience
Unaffected or Resistant
Recovery
Normalization
Transformation/Post-traumatic Growth
Hidden
(Masten, 2014; Ungar, 2013)

9. Resiliency is not the result of special children with special qualities but instead arises from ordinary processes and conditions
Masten, Ordinary Magic

10. Protective Factors Attachment relationships; social support
Problem-solving skills
Self-control
Mastery motivation
Meaning-making/identity
Cultural traditions
Access to resources
Effective schools and communities

11. Systems Approach (Bronfenbrenner and Masten)

12. Environments Matter The Social Ecology of Resilience (Ungar, 2012)
Vancouver Island University
Youth-in-Care Tuition Waiver Program

13. Resilience in the Face of HIV/AIDS (Burnley and Kirson, 2012) Attachment and school community

14. Adolescent mothers in Nanaimo, BC (King, 2012) Non-judgmental support

15. Challenges of Resilience Research
Need more validated youth-focused measures
Need theories that take into account culture and context which can contribute to more effective clinical and public health interventions (Kirmayer et al, 2012; Ungar, 2013)

16. Indigenous Populations
Definitions of health, wellness and well- being (Kirmayer et al, 2012)
ROOTS of RESILIENCE -

17. What does the research say about promoting resilience?
Reduce risk
Increase assets or resources
Mobilize protective systems

18. Children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance.
Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

19. Contact Caroline Burnley, Ph.D. Resilience Research Lab
Western Resilience Network
ex 2135