Community Resilience: Is it Greater than the Sum of the Parts of Individual Resilience?

Abstract

Resilience is an interesting concept in that it can be applied in similar, but different, ways in a variety of contexts. In this paper I look at the different meanings for the concept with a particular focus on individual resilience examined from a psychological perspective. Individual resilience is compared and contrasted with community resilience in an attempt to answer the question, “is community resilience greater than the sum of the parts of individual resilience found within that community”?In psychology, resilience research has developed from work looking at how people cope with the negative impact of crisis, disaster or trauma. In recent years this psychopathological perspective has been accompanied by an increasing interest in the positive outcomes that can follow trauma. For example families may grow closer following their survival of a traumatic event. This positive perspective would include work done on Post Traumatic Growth (PTG), Benefit Finding (BF), Positive Psychological Change (PCC) and of course psychological resilience.This paper will examine these different facets of “resilience” from a positive psychology perspective and look at how they may help in understanding the relationship between individual and community resilience. It will also look at how positive psychological interventions may be used to enhance the resilience of individuals and communities.