Resilience: what it is – and what it isn’t
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Resilience: what it is – and what it isn’t

Erin Dean Health journalist

To some, it’s an unhelpful concept that imposes the burden of coping; to others, it is the protection we all need in tough times

The Oxford English dictionary defines resilience as ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties’ or ‘toughness’. Resilience first emerged as a theory in the 1970s, when child psychologists identified that some children had good outcomes despite being exposed to childhood trauma and adversity, says the RCN. Researchers looked at protective factors that promote mental health and positive development in the face of risk, including personal attributes, family cohesion and external support factors.

Nursing Standard. 36, 11, 39-39. doi: 10.7748/ns.36.11.39.s20

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