Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T20:45:31.173Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Resilience: thoughts on the value of the concept for critical gerontology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2011

KIRSTY WILD ,
JANINE L. WILES  and
RUTH E. S. ALLEN
KIRSTY WILD
Affiliation:
Social and Community Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
JANINE L. WILES*
Affiliation:
Social and Community Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
RUTH E. S. ALLEN
Affiliation:
Social and Community Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
*
Address for correspondence: Janine L. Wiles, Social and Community Health, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines the utility of the concept of resilience to the field of critical gerontology. Resilience is an increasingly popular concept within the social sciences. We explore some key ideas about individual and social resilience from varied fields, and propose new ways to conceptualise these in relation to resilience in later life. This article examines the history of the concept of resilience; explores some of the diverse ways that gerontologists are attempting to apply it to later life; and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of using resilience as a conceptual framework within critical ageing research. We also suggest ways of conceptualising resilience and ageing, highlighting the different scales of resilience that impact on the ability of older people to negotiate adversity, and some key areas of resilience relevant to later life. The example of mobility resilience is used to illustrate how different scales of resilience operate within an area of resilience central to the ageing experience. Finally, some key principles for the use of resilience within critical gerontology are outlined, providing guidance on how to maximise the potential of the concept whilst avoiding some of the limitations associated with its historical usage.

Keywords

resiliencecritical gerontologyinterdependencescalecontext
Type
Submitted Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 33 , Issue 1: Ageing and Social Inclusion/Exclusion , January 2013 , pp. 137 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahmed, R., Seedat, M., van Niekerk, A. and Bulbulia, S. 2004. Discerning community resilience in disadvantaged communities in the context of violence and injury prevention. South African Journal of Psychology, 34, 3, 386–408.Google Scholar
Bacon, N., Brophy, M., Mguni, N., Mulgan, G. and Shandro, A. 2010. The State of Happiness: Can Public Policy Shape People's Wellbeing and Resilience? The Young Foundation, London.Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds) 1993. Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioural Sciences. Press Syndicate of University of Cambridge, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Bauman, S., Adams, J. H. and Waldo, M. 2001. Resilience in the oldest-old. Counseling and Human Development, 34, 2, 1–19.Google Scholar
Beck, U. 1992. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. Sage, London.Google Scholar
Bennett, K. M. 2010. How to achieve resilience as an older widower: turning points or gradual change? Ageing & Society, 30, 3, 369–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beutel, M. E., Glaesmer, H., Wiltink, J., Marian, H. and Brähler, E. 2010. Life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and resilience across the life span of men. The Aging Male, 13, 1, 32–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bonanno, G. A. 2004. Loss, trauma and human resilience: have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely adverse events? American Psychologist, 59, 1, 20–8.Google Scholar
Bonanno, G. A., Wortman, C. B. and Nesse, R. M. 2004. Prospective patterns of resilience and maladjustment during widowhood. Psychology and Aging, 19, 2, 260–71.Google Scholar
Bowling, A. and Dieppe, P. 2005. What is successful ageing and who should define it? British Medical Journal, 331, 7531, 1548–51.Google Scholar
Braudy Harris, P. 2008. Another wrinkle in the debate about successful aging: the undervalued concept of resilience and the lived experience of dementia. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 67, 1, 43–61.Google Scholar
Brodsky, A. E. 1999. ‘Making it’: the components and process of resilience among urban, African-American single mothers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69, 2, 148–60.Google Scholar
Browne, C. V., Mokuau, N. and Braun, K. L. 2009. Adversity and resiliency in the lives of native Hawaiian elders. Social Work, 54, 3, 253–61.Google Scholar
Campbell-Sills, L. and Stein, M. B. 2007. Psychometric analysis and refinement of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): validation of a 10-item measure of resilience. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20, 6, 1019–28.Google Scholar
Canvin, K., Marttila, A., Burstrom, B. and Whitehead, M. 2009. Tales of the unexpected? Hidden resilience in poor households in Britain. Social Science & Medicine, 69, 2, 238–45.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. and Garmezy, N. 1993. Prospects and promises in the study of resilience. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 4, 497–502.Google Scholar
Clauss-Ehlers, C. C. 2003. Promoting ecologic health resilience for minority youth: enhancing health care access through the school health center. Psychology in the Schools, 40, 3, 265–78.Google Scholar
Daatland, S. O. 2002. Time to pay back? Is there something for psychology and sociology in gerontology? In Anderson, L. (ed.), Cultural Gerontology. Auburn House, Westport, Connecticut, 1–11.Google Scholar
Davis, R., Cook, D. and Cohen, L. 2005. A community resilience approach to reducing ethnic and racial disparities in health. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 12, 2168–73.Google Scholar
Felton, B. S. and Hall, J. M. 2001. Conceptualizing resilience in women older than 85: overcoming adversity from loss or illness. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 27, 11, 46–53.Google Scholar
Fitzpatrick, K. E. and Vacha-Haase, T. 2010. Marital satisfaction and resilience in caregivers of spouses with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 33, 3, 165–80.Google Scholar
Folke, C. 2006. Resilience: the emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analyses. Global Environmental Change, 16, 3, 253–67.Google Scholar
Folke, C. and Rockström, J. 2009. Turbulent times. Global Environmental Change, 19, 1, 1–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, M. W., Richman, J. M. and Galinsky, M. J. 1999. Risk, protection, and resilience: toward a conceptual framework for social work practice. Social Work Research, 23, 3, 131–43.Google Scholar
Friborg, O., Hjerndal, O., Rosenvinge, J. H. and Martinussen, M. 2003. A new rating scale for adult resilience: what are the central protective resources behind healthy adjustment? International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 12, 2, 65–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fries, J. F. 1990. Medical perspectives upon successful aging. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds), Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 35–49.Google Scholar
Ganong, L. G. and Coleman, M. 2002. Family resilience in multiple contexts. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 2, 346–48.Google Scholar
Gattuso, S. 2003. Becoming a wise old woman: resilience and wellness in later life. Health Sociology Review, 12, 2, 171–7.Google Scholar
Giddens, A. 1999. Runaway World: How Globalization is Reshaping our Lives. Profile, London.Google Scholar
Grenier, A. M. 2005. The contextual and social locations of older women's experiences of disability and decline. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 2, 131–46.Google Scholar
Hamarat, E., Thompson, D., Steele, D., Matheney, K. and Simons, C. 2002. Age differences in coping resources and satisfaction with life among middle aged, young-old, and oldest-old adults. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 3, 360–7.Google Scholar
Hildon, Z., Montgomery, S. M., Blane, D., Wiggins, R. D. and Netuveli, G. 2010. Examining resilience of quality of life in the face of health-related and psychosocial adversity at older ages: what is ‘right' about the way we age? The Gerontologist, 50, 1, 36–47.Google Scholar
Katz, S. 2003. Critical gerontological theory: intellectual fieldwork and the nomadic life of ideas. In Biggs, S., Hendricks, J. and Lowenstein, A. (eds), The Need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology. Baywood Publishing, Amityville, New York, 15–31.Google Scholar
Lowenstein, A. 2009. Elder abuse and neglect –‘Old phenomenon’: new directions for research, legislation, and service developments. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 21, 3, 278–87.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S. and Cicchetti, D. 2000. The construct of resilience: implications for interventions and social policies. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 4, 857–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D. and Becker, B. 2000 a. The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 3, 543–62.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D. and Becker, B. 2000 b. Research on resilience: Response to commentaries. Child Development, 71, 3, 573–75.Google Scholar
Marshall, N. A. 2010. Understanding social resilience to climate variability in primary enterprises and industries. Global Environmental Change, 20, 1, 36–43.Google Scholar
Massey, S., Cameron, A., Ouellette, S. and Fine, M. 1998. Qualitative approaches to the study of thriving: what can be learned? Journal of Social Issues, 54, 2, 337–55.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S. 2001. Ordinary magic: resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 3, 227–38.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Hubbard, J. J., Gest, S. D., Tellegen, A., Garmezy, N. and Ramirez, M. 1999. Competence in the context of adversity: pathways to resilience and maladaptation from childhood to late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 11, 1, 143–69.Google Scholar
Miller, D. B. and MacIntosh, R. 1999. Promoting resilience in urban African American adolescents: racial socialization and identity as protective factors. Social Work Research, 23, 3, 159–69.Google Scholar
Minkler, M. and Holstein, M. B. 2008. From civil rights to … civic engagement?Concerns of two older critical gerontologists about a ‘new social movement’ and what it portends. Journal of Aging Studies, 22, 2, 196–205.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R. 2010. Health, risk and resilience. In Smith, S. J., Pain, R., Marston, S. A. and Jones, J. P. (eds), The Sage Book of Social Geographies. Sage, London, 329–49.Google Scholar
Moody, H. R. 1993. Overview: what is critical gerontology and why is it important? In Cole, T. K., Achenbaum, W. A., Jakobi, P. L. and Kastenbaum, R. (eds), Voices and Visions of Aging: Towards a Critical Gerontology. Springer, New York, xv–xli.Google Scholar
Nakashima, M. and Canda, E. R. 2005. Positive dying and resiliency in later life: a qualitative study. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 1, 109–25.Google Scholar
Pelling, M. and Uitto, J. I. 2001. Small island developing states: natural disaster vulnerability and global change. Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards, 3, 2, 49–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phelan, E. A., Anderson, L. A., Lacroix, A. Z. and Larson, E. B. 2004. Older adults' views of ‘successful aging’ – how do they compare with researchers' definitions? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 52, 2, 211–6.Google Scholar
Reichstadt, J., Sengupta, G., Depp, C. A., Palinkas, L. A. and Jeste, D. V. 2010. Older adults’ perspectives on successful aging: qualitative interviews. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 18, 7, 567–75.Google Scholar
Richardson, G. 2002. The metatheory of resilience and resiliency. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58, 3, 307–21.Google Scholar
Rose, A. 2004. Defining and measuring economic resilience to disasters. Disaster Prevention and Management, 13, 4, 307–14.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. W. and Kahn, R. L. 1998. Successful Aging. Dell, New York.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. 1993. Resilience: some conceptual considerations. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14, 8, 626–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sahoo, A. K., Andrews, G. J. and Rajan, S. I. 2009. Sociology of Ageing: A Reader. Rawat Publications, Jaipur.Google Scholar
Sanders, A. E., Lim, S. and Sohn, W. 2008. Resilience to urban poverty: theoretical and empirical considerations for population health. American Journal of Public Health, 98, 6, 1101–6.Google Scholar
Sapountzaki, K. 2007. Social resilience to environmental risks: a mechanism of vulnerability transfer. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 18, 3, 274–97.Google Scholar
Scheidt, R. J., Humphreys, D. R. and Yorgason, J. B. 1999. Successful aging: what's not to like? Journal of Applied Gerontology, 18, 3, 277–82.Google Scholar
Seccombe, K. 2002. ‘Beating the odds’ versus ‘changing the odds’: poverty, resilience, and family policy. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 2, 384–94.Google Scholar
Sonn, C. C. and Fisher, A. T. 1998. Sense of community: community resilient responses to oppression and change. Journal of Community Psychology, 26, 5, 457–72.Google Scholar
Spreitzer, G. M. and Sonenshein, S. 2004. Toward the construct definition of postive deviance. American Behavioural Scientist, 47, 6, 828–47.Google Scholar
Staudinger, U. M., Marsiske, M. and Baltes, P. B. 1993. Resilience and levels of reserve capacity in later adulthood: perspectives from life-span theory. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 4, 541–66.Google Scholar
Temperley, J. 2001. The depressive position. In Bronstein, C. (ed.), Kleinian Theory: A Contemporary Position. Whurr, London, 47–62.Google Scholar
Tse, S. and Liew, T. 2004. New Zealand experiences: how is community resilience manifested in Asian communities? International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2, 1, 1–8.Google Scholar
Tusaie, K. and Dyer, J. 2004. Resilience: a historical review of the construct. Holistic Nursing Practice, 18, 1, 3–8.Google Scholar
Wagnild, G. M. 2003. Resilience and successful aging. Comparison among low and high income older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 29, 12, 42–9.Google Scholar
Wagnild, G. M. and Young, H. M. 1993. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1, 2, 165–78.Google Scholar
Wiles, J. L., Leibing, A., Guberman, N., Reeve, J. and Allen, R. E. S. 2011. The meaning of ‘ageing in place’ to older people. The Gerontologist, doi:10.1093/geront/gnr098.Google Scholar
Wiles, J. L., Wild, K., Kerse, N. K. and Allen, R. E. S. in press. Resilience from the point of view of older people: ‘There's still life beyond a funny knee.’ Social Science & Medicine.Google Scholar
Wilson, G. 1997. A postmodern approach to structured dependency theory. Journal of Social Policy, 26, 3, 341–50.Google Scholar
Windle, G., Bennett, K. M. and Noyes, J. 2011. A methodological review of resilience measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9, 8, doi:10.1186/1477-7525-9-8.Google Scholar
Windle, G., Markland, D. A. and Woods, R. T. 2008. Examination of a theoretical model of psychological resilience in older age. Aging & Mental Health, 12, 3, 285–92.Google Scholar
Windle, G., Woods, R. T. and Markland, D. A. 2010. Living with ill-health in older age: the role of a resilient personality. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11, 6, 763–77.Google Scholar
Zautra, A. J., Hall, J. S., Murray, K. E. and The Resilience Solutions Group. 2008. Resilience: a new integrative approach to health and mental health research. Health Psychology Review, 2, 1, 41–64.Google Scholar