Handbook of Adult Resilience

What enables people to bounce back from stressful experiences? How do certain individuals maintain a sense of purpose and direction over the long term, even in the face of adversity? This is the first book to move beyond childhood and adolescence to explore resilience across the lifespan. Coverage ranges from genetic and physiological factors through personal, family, organizational, and community processes. Contributors examine how resilience contributes to health and well-being across the adult life cycle; why—and what happens when—resilience processes fail; ethnic and cultural dimensions of resilience; and ways to enhance adult resilience, including reviews of exemplary programs.

“"The coverage of topics is comprehensive, and the organization of the book is useful to the reader in that there is a logical sequence going from the individual (biologic) to the social....It covers a wide range of topics on resilience, including not only resilience of individuals but also of communities and neighborhoods, and even cities. It raises issues and future research concerns, and the chapters are well written, with fluidity and authority. Furthermore, whereas most of the literature on resilience so far has been on children, this is the first handbook to focus on resilience in individuals of adult age, which makes it an important addition to the literature....Highly recommended to a wide variety of individuals, from academic and practicing psychologists to social workers, physicians, stress researchers, sociologists, occupational therapists, community workers, and many others interested in understanding the development of healthy personas and in helping individuals coping with loss and adversity."--PsycCRITIQUES”

"Framed brilliantly, this book is the mother lode of scientific knowledge on a profoundly important topic. The editors recognize that understanding why some individuals prevail in the face of adversity--and even flourish--must encompass numerous influences, from personal qualities to social networks and communities. Importantly, the final section presents resilience-promoting interventions designed to build the strengths required to surmount major life difficulties. It will be the definitive source on adult resilience for years to come."--Carol D. Ryff, PhD, Director, Institute on Aging, and Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Resilience is a psychological concept that has excited many investigators and practitioners, but it has been difficult to define clearly or measure reliably. This handbook gathers together the clearest thinkers in the field to tackle this idea from biological, emotional, cognitive, developmental, social, and even policy perspectives. There is no other book available with this kind of reach, and it should be on the shelf of anyone contemplating research on resilience or for whom the idea of resilience helps to organize clinical and community-based interventions. This volume includes a fabulous group of contributors writing at the cutting edge of the field."--Peter Salovey, PhD, Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology, Yale University

"Scholars and students alike will find the Handbook of Adult Resilience to be invaluable. Simply stated, this is the most important book to date on the topic of resilience."--John T. Cacioppo, PhD, Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor and Director, Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience, University of Chicago
- The book's value lies in its evidence-based consideration of resilience across a range of domains and at many levels of analysis....The book is well organized, coherent, and accessible. Also, the concept of resilience travels well across subject boundaries, providing obvious linkages between seemingly disparate topics. The book's holistic approach fills a big gap in the literature and it should prove a valuable resource for students, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers with theoretical or applied interest in this fascinating and increasingly important topic. --The Psychologist, 4/4/2012ƒƒ The coverage of topics is comprehensive, and the organization of the book is useful to the reader in that there is a logical sequence going from the individual (biologic) to the social....It covers a wide range of topics on resilience, including not only resilience of individuals but also of communities and neighborhoods, and even cities. It raises issues and future research concerns, and the chapters are well written, with fluidity and authority. Furthermore, whereas most of the literature on resilience so far has been on children, this is the first handbook to focus on resilience in individuals of adult age, which makes it an important addition to the literature....Highly recommended to a wide variety of individuals, from academic and practicing psychologists to social workers, physicians, stress researchers, sociologists, occupational therapists, community workers, and many others interested in understanding the development of healthy personas and in helping individuals coping with loss and adversity. --PsycCRITIQUES, 4/4/2012ƒƒ“Provid[es] readers with a thorough, thoughtful, and varied treatise of psychological resilience in adulthood....Laudably, the volume includes perspectives that run the gamut of the behavioral sciences, including biological, cognitive, behavioral, and social psychology, as well as applied sub-disciplines spanning organizational, cultural, and health contexts. Such heterogeneity is very much a strength of the present volume….The volume contains several freestanding allusions to intriguing research findings and insightful observations, which further enhance the readers’ experience….The volume represents a hugely valuable resource for researchers and policy-makers interested in notions of resilience and their applicability to real-life contexts. The editors have successfully captured the vibrancy and diversity of this research area, and have certainly laid convincing groundwork for a case to be made that resilience research represents a coherent and viable subdiscipline-in-waiting.”--Journal of Positive Psychology, 3/1/2012

John W. Reich, PhD, is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University (ASU). His work has focused on the application of social psychological concepts in understanding societal issues and the development of interventions for improving individuals' well-being. Dr. Reich and the other two coeditors are members of the ASU Resilience Solutions Group, which was the source of the development of this handbook. Alex J. Zautra, PhD, is Foundation Professor of Clinical Psychology at ASU. His research, clinical work, teaching, and publications explore fundamental mind–body issues such as the role of positive emotion in health and the sources of resilience within the person that restore health and well-being following challenges from stressors at home, at work, and in community life. Dr. Zautra's current research focuses on resilience to chronic pain and resilience as people age. John Stuart Hall, PhD, is Professor of Public Affairs and Public Service at ASU. A founder and former Director of ASU's School of Public Affairs and its Center for Urban Studies, and Project Director of over 40 large-scale funded and often interdisciplinary urban research projects, Dr. Hall has specialized in linking the University with pressing community public policy and governance issues. His current research interests include building resilience in communities and urban regions, and healthy aging.

What enables people to bounce back from stressful experiences? How do certain individuals maintain a sense of purpose and direction over the long term, even in the face of adversity? This is the first book to move beyond childhood and adolescence to explore resilience across the lifespan. Coverage ranges from genetic and physiological factors through personal, family, organizational, and community processes. Contributors examine how resilience contributes to health and well-being across the adult life cycle; why--and what happens when--resilience processes fail; ethnic and cultural dimensions of resilience; and ways to enhance adult resilience, including reviews of exemplary programs.

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