Parents working abroad presume that their kids understand fully why they have to

leave—that it is for the children’s good and their future. But, unknown to many the level of
resilience is also takes place either it strengthens or enfeebled. Being resilient as a tool means
being able to adapt and bounce back when something difficult happens in our lives. It is the
ability to once again pick ourselves up after trauma or painful experience.

Levels of resiliency will change and develop throughout our life, and at points, we will
find that we do not cope as well as others, as well as surprising ourselves when we manage a
difficult situation. In another sense, resilience is just one of many psychological tools we
implement to get us back to feeling normal again. Resilience is important for a number of
reasons; it enables us to develop mechanisms for protection against experiences which could be
overwhelming, it helps us to maintain balance in our lives during difficult or stressful periods of
time (Yates, 2015).

Early resilience studies were concentrated on qualities of the individual child— the
resilient child. The resilient child was described as invulnerable (Anthony, 2014) or invincible
(Werner and Smith, 2009). Though this is in contrast to Yates (2015) that one reason for
weakening resiliency is lacking family relations. Gradually, researchers came to view these terms
as misleading for several reasons and have broadened or sharpened the concept of resilience as a
tool in emerging strong ties.

The single most common factor for children who develop resilience is at least one stable
and committed relationship with a supportive parent, caregiver, or other adult. These
relationships provide the personalized responsiveness, scaffolding, and protection that buffer
children from developmental disruption. They also build key capacities—such as the ability to
plan, monitor, and regulate behavior—that enable children to respond adaptively to adversity and
thrive. This combination of supportive relationships, adaptive skill-building, and positive
experiences is the foundation of resilience.

Garmezy N, Masten AS, Tellegen A. The study of stress and competence in children: A building block for
developmental psychopathology. Child Development. 1984;55:97–111.

Fergus S, Zimmerman M. Adolescent resilience: A Framework for understanding health development in

the face of risk. Annual Review of Public Health. 2005;26:399–419.

Yates TM, Egeland B, Sroufe LA. Rethinking resilience; A developmental process perspective. In: Luthar
SS, editor. Resilience and Vulnerability: Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities.New York:
Cambridge University Press; 2015. pp. 243–266.