Revising the concept of resilience for application in a familial and low income context

This chapter reviews the general and family-specific literature on resilience. Its aim is to identify the utility of the concept, especially for the study of family-related processes of resource management and adaptation and change as the circumstances change, especially family-based transitions. While resilience is seen to be a ‘big’ concept in that it can address large questions, to be applicable to families it needs to be refined in respect to agency, shock, context and outcome. For a start, family agency needs to be understood as shaped by meanings and interpretations and also grounded in structural differentiations along gender and generational lines. Secondly, regarding the focus on shock or disturbance, the argument was made that, while some shock and disturbances are always likely to occur, ongoing risks and vulnrability are more likely to speak to resilience and other behaviours in families than shocks or major disturbances. As regards the environment or context, the case was made for a stronger conceptualization of inequalities as affecting both the likelihood of a shock, disturbance or set of risks. Finally, as regards outcome, the case was made for a view of resilience as an ongoing process of adjustment rather than a fixed state.