Facts and Figures

• When challenged or dis-tressed, resilient people expect to find a way to make things work well. They feel capable and self-reliant and have a learning/coping reaction rather than the victim/blaming reaction.

• Highly resilient people show many similar qualities: playful, child-like curiosity; they constantly learn from experience; they adapt quickly; they have solid self-esteem; possess self-confidence; have good friendships, loving relationships; express feelings honestly; expect things to work out well; read others with empathy; use intuition, creative hunches; defend themselves well; have a talent for serendipity; and get better and better as time goes on.

• The following 10 steps can help people build resilience, and bounce back from difficult experiences: make connections; avoid seeing crises as insurmountable problems; accept that change is a part of living; move toward your goals; take decisive actions; look for opportunities for self-discovery; nurture a positive view of yourself; keep things in perspective; maintain a hopeful outlook; take care of yourself.

• A person who thinks optimistically believes that out-comes are more likely to be good than bad. Being optimistic also means accepting that setbacks, disappointments and reversals are normal and are likely to be overcome by persistence and your own actions.

• People who mostly use pessimistic thinking believe that outcomes are more likely to be bad than good. Thinking this way can seem to be ‘protective’ but it is an illusion. Those who use predominantly pessimistic thinking tend to feel down and helpless. Everything seems too hard to fix and too overwhelming. They tend to look on the worst side of things and feel a sense of hopelessness and despair.

• The development of resilience in young people is now linked to long-term success in life and the prevention of substance abuse, violence and suicide.

• Resiliency can arise not only from the characteristics of an individual child but the circumstances they find themselves in, for example having a strong community support network.

• Factors which increase the likelihood of a positive outcome for young people and help promote resilience are called protective factors. A family protective factor for example, is supportive and caring parents, whilst a positive school climate is a school protective factor. Minimising the impact of risk factors, enhancing resilience and maximising the impact of protective factors are important for all children and young people, and a key focus for any program aiming to promote their wellbeing.

• Ultimately, a sense of connectedness lies at the heart of resilience.

• 14% of those aged 12-17 were suffering from a mental health problem in 1998 according to the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare.

• Researchers have identified a number of risk factors that can adversely impact upon the wellbeing of children and young people. These include poor social skills, difficult temperament, family violence, harsh or inconsistent punishment, school failure, deviant peer group, neigh-bourhood violence and crime, discrimination, and family break-up.

• There are protective factors that promote resilience in young people and hence help to reduce the likelihood that these risk factors will lead to undesirable outcomes in young people. Protective factors may include attachment to family, optimism, coping skills, secure and stable family, recognition of achievement, community networking, and community or ethnic/cultural pride.

• Analysis of data from the Australian Temperament Project being conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Victorian Department of Justice showed that 100 out of 286 children identified as being high risk in terms of anti-social behaviour at the age of 11-12 were no longer classed as being at risk by the age of 17. This group was defined by researchers as being more resilient.

• Teaching students to be optimistic helps them find the positive in negative situations; perceive that bad situations are temporary; acknowledge that bad situations are not all their fault; and believe that bad situations are specific and do not necessarily flow over into all aspects of their lives. Optimism also creates a sense of purpose and hope for the future.

• Many young people become unnecessarily distressed and despairing because they distort a situation or hold irrational beliefs. Teaching kids to use evidence-based helpful thinking can assist them to overcome unhelpful thinking. Useful techniques include looking for evidence and cross-checking with others to get a second opinion; and acknowledging that how you think affects how you feel and that emotions, though powerful, can be managed.

• The key social competencies that underpin emotional intelligence and resilience are: attending to others; the accurate interpretation of social cues; developing a vocabulary of emotions; the generation of effective solutions to problems; the realistic anticipation of consequences; translating social concepts into effective habits; developing the habits of self-efficacy and optimism; emotional regulation; personal mastery; and linking with people to create a sense of belonging.

• The factors that promote and inhibit resilience operate at different levels and include the structures of communities and schools, the interactions of families, the dynamics of peer groups and the characteristics of individuals. These then need to be mapped across the different developmental needs of young people at different stages of their education.