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Cited by 31Resilience and Mental HealthAging and Gerontology ResearchPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

What does resilience signify? An evaluation of concepts and directions for future research

Infurna, Frank J.·2020·Gerontology
DOI 10.1159/000507365
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Abstract

Throughout the life course, individuals are confronted with adversities that challenge their ability to live the life they imagined. Adversities that are the most prominently studied and shown to bring about the most serious consequences for adjustment across the adult lifespan include job loss, disease and disability onset, and spousal and child bereavement. However, not all individuals show sustained declines to adversity; some are able to bounce back. The resilience literature is built on the premise that individuals are able to bounce back, or adapt to adversity. The past 15-20 years have seen an abundance of resilience research examining resilience to diverse types of adversity across the adult life-span. The overarching goal of this paper is to evaluate psychological concepts of resilience in adulthood and old age and recommend avenues for future research. To do so, I first evaluate and discuss definitions of resilience and their overlap across literatures with an emphasis on sociological approaches to studying adversity across the adult lifespan. Second, I discuss promising conceptual and methodological approaches to advance the resilience literature in adulthood and old age. Conceptual approaches to furthering the resilience literature include incorporating an anticipation component into the definition of resilience. Methodological approaches to furthering the resilience literature include prospective longitudinal designs that incorporate quantitative and qualitative approaches, multidimensional assessments, and the need to examine repeated adversities or multiple adversities that transpire in relatively close proximity to one another.

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  • The master narrative can be harmful for people whose stories deviate from it; divergence from socially acceptable recovery strategies may lead to poorer adjustment.

    “However, this master narrative has the potential to be harmful for the people whose stories deviate from it. People whose stories are not aligned with the master narrative of redemption in their culture may diverge from socially acceptable strategies to recover from trauma, which could lead to poorer adjustment (Infurna, 2020; Delker, Salton, McLean, & Syed, 2020; McLean et al, 2020).”

    From Post‐traumatic growth as positive personality change: Challenges, opportunities, and recommendations (2021) · cites this paper as Infurna, 2020

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Authors
Infurna, F. J.
Affiliations
Arizona State University (US)
Corresponding author
Infurna, Frank J.
ORCID
Infurna, Frank J.
Venue
Gerontology
Publisher
S. Karger AG
Published
2020
Volume
66
Issue
4
Pages
323-331
ISSN
  • 0304-324X (ISSN-L)
  • 1423-0003
DOI
10.1159/000507365
OpenAlex
W3026032657
Cited by
31
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1
FWCI
0.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Gerontology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords
resilience, adversity, adulthood, old age, life course, bereavement, job loss, adaptation to adversity, longitudinal study design, multidimensional assessment
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires, Resilience, Psychological

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