Resilience and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Promoting child and youth resilience and related mental health outcomes

Abstract

The core intent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to provide a framework to promote a more sustainable future for all, accounting for challenges faced globally. Consequently, these goals echo resilience and other research focused on child and youth outcomes. Using a systems theory framework, we review how the SDGs can be considered as a facilitator of positive mental health outcomes. We begin by reviewing current understandings of child and youth resilience and how these underscore the importance of community resources in supporting improved mental health outcomes. Accordingly, we consider community resilience: the capacity of communities to engage with resources in order to thrive in complex and adverse environments, and develop the personal and collective capacity of those living and working there to respond to these challenges effectively. Building on this discussion, we present an integrative review of the literature to propose a theory of community resilience development. We situate this review against contemporary understandings of how to promote child and youth resilience and related mental health outcomes. We conclude the article by considering the role of community resilience as a means of achieving the SDGs as they pertain to child and youth resilience and mental health outcomes.