The Phenomenon of Resilience in the Context of Socio-Ecological Approach and Discourse

Abstract

The article provides a brief overview of resilience research and presents the main issues and problems in this field of science. Particular attention is paid to the issues of determining resilience by various researcher and the analysis of debatable issues in understanding this phenomenon. A more detailed analysis is provided regarding the views of authors who interpret resilience in the context of socio-ecological approach. There is a large body of empirical research on the resilience of children and adults, as well as social groups, in the context of the impact of various risk factors, stress and trauma, which allowed researchers to form insights into protective factors and assets that are powerful adaptation resources in difficult situations. The formation of the field of psychology aimed at the development of resilience as a holistic direction requires the definition of common theoretical and methodological foundations for its determination and construction of empirical procedures for its study in the context of different challenges and different cultures. Systemic and socio-environmental approaches can be distinguished among modern approaches to the definition and understanding of resilience. In the context of these approaches, resilience appears as a phenomenon and the process of interaction of internal and external factors, which is carried out under the determining influence of environmental factors. The environment contains the resources needed by people and groups, forms an idea of the effects of positive development and coping through the discourses it creates, and also regulates people’s access to these resources. The resilience considered in this way is not so much the property and the result of individual’s efforts (although this factor is important) as a manifestation of the ability of the social environment and social support networks to provide resources whose importance is recognized by culture.