Rethinking Resilience Theory in African American Families: Fostering Positive Adaptations and Transformative Social Justice

Abstract

Many African American families in the United States deal with chronic adversity marked by systematic oppression. Families are often encouraged to demonstrate perseverance, regardless of the conditions in which they live—essentially, to model resilience. However, temporal positive adaptations displayed by African American families could be fostering greater, more damaging future vulnerabilities. The concept of rethinking resilience implores family scientists and practitioners to think critically about how processes of resilience may be imposing risk on families when they are expected continuously to adapt internally but, externally, their adverse environments remain unchanged. Family scientists and practitioners bear the responsibility of not only encouraging positive adaptations in families but also intentionally working to ameliorate conditions that necessitate resilience through acts of social justice. This article describes the potential harm that resides in shallow promotions of resilience and provides aspiring social justice allies with practical concepts to consider as they rethink resilience.