Resilience Definitions and Theories: Implications for Post-Secondary Students

Abstract

Literature in psychology is replete with countless definitions and theories of resilience, which may create confusion among scholars and practitioners. In addition to varying from one publication to another, these definitions and theories have also evolved over the years. A narrative review of extant theoretical and empirical research in psychology ( n = 64 articles included) was carried out to paint a portrait of the various definitions and theories of resilience. The main features and critiques of the principal definitions and theories are synthesized, including key examples from seminal work on resilience. The article concludes by proposing the most essential conceptual and theoretical components for studying resilience in post-secondary students, who are commonly studied for their experiences of stress and their capacity for resilience. A holistic, process-oriented definition of resilience, grounded in a strength-based theoretical framework, is argued to be the most appropriate approach to employ in post-secondary settings.