The term resilience

The term resilience originally comes from materials science. A material possesses resilience if it can return to its original state after elastic deformation. In psychology, resilience refers to a person's ability to cope with crises and use them as opportunities for development by drawing on personal and socially mediated resources.

History of resilience research

Viktor E. Frankl, a neurologist and psychiatrist born in Vienna in 1905, was deported to a concentration camp in 1942. His experiences there made it clear to him that meaning is a crucial value for survival. Or, as Nietzsche put it: "He who has a 'why' to live for can bear almost any 'how'." After surviving four camps, Frankl described in a book the values that had allowed him to survive. Important factors were his social network, as well as humor and imagination. For example, he imagined himself giving a lecture about his experiences in the concentration camp later on, once the terrible time had come to an end. In his youth, Frankl was an enthusiastic climber. Since Frankl actually had a fear of heights and wanted to address this problem through climbing, mountaineering was "resilience in action." He wrote: "Mountaineering, the memory of how the rock feels, that was one of the motivations for surviving the horrors of the concentration camp.".
The American sociologist Aaron Antonovsky interviewed survivors of concentration camps in Israel about their experiences. Those who had remained healthy despite all the adversity had a pronounced sense of coherence (a feeling for a coherent connection) with the three components "I understand what is happening," "I can handle it," and "it makes sense." Antonovsky developed the concept of salutogenesis (the origin of health) as an answer to the question of what keeps people healthy. Stressful factors or stressors can make a person ill (pathogenesis), but...
Conversely, one's strengths or resources support a person in staying healthy. The balance between stressors and strengthening factors is influenced by the sense of coherence, so that the scale ultimately tips more towards either illness or health.
American developmental psychologist Emmy Werner observed 698 children on the Hawaiian island of Kauai over many years, researching the influence of risk factors such as poverty and domestic violence on their psychological development. Werner found that about one-third of the children from high-risk environments nevertheless developed completely normally. These children had a stable emotional relationship with a caregiver, who was not necessarily a family member. The children were "vulnerable but invincible" and they developed "despite all adversity." Later, longitudinal studies from Bielefeld and Mannheim in Germany confirmed Werner's findings.
Neuropsychology, using imaging techniques, can now provide clues about the relationship between chronic illnesses, depression, and resilience. Resilience, therefore, is linked to the status of the serotonin transporter gene, particularly in individuals with limited social support. The neurotransmitter serotonin plays a crucial role in processing emotions and in the development of depression.

Current concept of resilience

A Collaborative Research Center dedicated to resilience research has been established at the University of Mainz. Here, researchers focus on the risk/protective factor model. Risk factors inhibit a person's development, increase their risk, and promote illness. Conversely, protective factors promote positive development, reduce risk, and prevent or mitigate illness. These factors thus influence the adaptation process to adverse events. Importantly, appropriate training can influence resilience factors and resources.
Experts currently view resilience not as an immutable personality trait, but as a dynamic, lifelong process in the interplay between the individual and their environment. A tree in the wind serves as a metaphor: it resists strong winds (resistance), recovers after the wind dies down (regeneration), and ultimately adapts its growth to the prevailing wind direction (reconfiguration). Resilience researchers in Mainz are investigating individual resilience factors such as personality traits, life history, social support, and genetic predisposition. From several factors, they form groups of resilience mechanisms that ultimately lead to a specific outcome. These individual mechanisms can be strengthened through interventions.
Resilience can be measured using specific questionnaires. A good questionnaire for practical assessment is the TRUST Resilience Questionnaire (RF15) [DIA 72]. The 15 questions are answered on a scale from 0 (poor) to 10 (good) points, and the scores are added together. There is no standard range; instead, for each element, one looks at where there are opportunities for improvement.

The resilience suitcase

Numerous factors support the ability to cope with crises. In the case of chronic illness, resilience is often even more important than social support and high income for adapting to the illness.
Active coping, meaning coping strategies that draw on a person's own strengths, is helpful. This leads to different perspectives. Compared to avoidance or repression, active coping has a more positive effect on physical and emotional functioning for most people. For example, one can resolve to make the best of the situation. Structured problem-solving also strengthens active coping, as does developing action plans for what to do in the event of a crisis.
Emotion regulation is also important. This refers to the ability to influence one's own feelings in a particular direction. To support emotion regulation, one can, for example, visualize how one will react in stressful situations.
It is also crucial to examine one's own values and identify the most important ones by which one lives. One should consider the sources of meaning in life, such as social relationships, career, or volunteer work. Personal values can also be clarified by imagining what one would like to hear about oneself at one's 80th birthday celebration: "He worked himself to the bone" or rather "He is a caring and loving husband and father.".

Spiritual practice, such as prayer, meditation, or community activities, is also highly valued for resilience.
Self-efficacy refers to the belief that one can handle a situation and possesses the necessary resources to overcome it. This allows one to influence the course of events. Studies have shown this attitude to be more beneficial than the fatalistic "I can't do anything anyway" mindset. It can be helpful to reflect on one's personal strengths and consider past successes in managing difficult situations.
Realistic optimism is also considered a helpful strategy. In a study of lung cancer patients, pessimistic individuals had a significantly shorter survival rate than non-pessimistic individuals.
Positive emotions are also beneficial. Writing down what you are grateful for in a gratitude journal puts you in a positive mood. Visualizing your "best possible self" is another option. You think about your future life and imagine that everything has gone as well as possible and that you have achieved all your life goals.
Current research shows that training and interventions can strengthen resilience. Therefore, corresponding support services should be taken seriously and have nothing to do with esotericism.

Summary: Prof. Gratiana Steinkamp, as published in Alpha1 Journal 1-2018.