Parental Resilience

Chapter 2: Parental Resilience

Parents who can cope with the stresses of everyday life, as well an occasional crisis, have resilience; they have the flexibility and inner strength necessary to bounce back when things are not going well. Multiple life stressors, such as a family history of abuse or neglect, health problems, marital conflict, or domestic or community violence—and financial stressors such as unemployment, poverty, and homelessness—may reduce a parent's capacity to cope effectively with the typical day-to-day stresses of raising children.

Building Resilience: The Power to Cope With Adversity (PDF - 292 KB)
ZERO TO THREE (2010)
Discusses how early childhood professionals can identify strengths and resources to help parents and young children foster resilience.

Efficacy and Social Support as Predictors of Parenting Stress Among Families in Poverty (PDF - 250 KB)
Raikes & Thompson
Infant Mental Health Journal, 26(3), 2005
Study found that high self-efficacy and fewer family risk factors help reduce parenting stress levels for families in poverty.

Families That Flourish: Facilitating Resilience in Clinical Practice
Becvar (2006)
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Offers a structured approach in clinical practice to facilitate families' inherent capacity for resilience.

Fostering Family Resiliency: A Review of the Key Protective Factors
Benzies & Mychasiuk
Child and Family Social Work, 14(1), 2009
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Identifies 24 protective factors that contribute to family resiliency and provides a foundation for strength-based family interventions.

Handbook for Working With Children and Youth: Pathways to Resilience Across Cultures and Contexts
Ungar (Ed.) (2005)
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Explores the multiple paths children follow to health and well-being in diverse national and international settings, addressing the more immediate concerns of how those who care for children create physical, emotional, and spiritual environments where resilience is nurtured.

Promoting Resilience in Child Welfare
Flynn, Dudding, & Barber (Eds.) (2006)
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A collection of articles promoting quality foster parenting and positive life experiences which promote resilient coping in children and youth.

Strengthening Family Resilience
Walsh (2006, 2nd ed.)
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Presents a family resilience framework for intervention and prevention with clients dealing with adversity; describes key processes in resilience for practitioners to target and facilitate.

Uncovering Stories of Family Resilience: A Mixed Methods Study of Resilient Families, Part 1
Lietz
Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 87(4), 2006
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Presents quantitative findings on ways families are able to maintain high functioning despite facing difficult experiences.

Uncovering Stories of Family Resilience: A Mixed Methods Study of Resilient Families, Part 2
Lietz
Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 88(1), 2007
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Presents qualitative results from family interviews that identified 10 strengths found in resilient families and narratives describing how those strengths contribute to resilience.