What is resilience?
A number of useful definitions of resilience have been developed by researchers. We provide a range of these below:
Fundamentally, resilience refers to positive adaptation, or the ability to maintain or regain mental health, despite experiencing adversity. Herrman, H., Stewart, D.E., Diaz-Granados, N., Berger, E.L., Jackson, B. & Yuen, T. (2011). What is resilience? Can J Psychiatry, 56(5), 258–265. (p.258).
Resilience comprises a set of flexible cognitive, imaginal, behavioural and emotional responses to acute or chronic adversities which can be unusual or commonplace. Neenan, M. (2009). Developing resilience: A cognitive behavioural approach. London: Routledge.(p.17). (NB: ‘imaginal’ has been added by Palmer, 2012.)
Morgan, Fletcher and Sarkar (2013: 552) provide a definition of team
resilience which relates to elite sports: A dynamic, psychosocial process which protects a group of individuals from the potential negative effect of stressors they collectively encounter. It comprises of processes whereby team members use their individual and collective resources to positively adapt when experiencing adversity (p.552). Morgan, P.B.C., Fletcher, D. & Sarkar, M. (2013). Defining and characterizing team resilience in elite sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14, 549–559.