Resilience in an Age of Terrorism (Verleye, Maeseele, Stevens, Speckhard)

p.5 By exploring resilience, we are seeking an answer to the question why some individuals exposed to risk are able to avoid the negative consequences associated with risk exposure (Christiansen & Evans, 2005) ... Our view is positive - that each individual possesses the potential for resilience and that the level of resilience is an outcome of the interplay between the individual and the influencing factors within his environment. (Tusia & Dyer, 2004). In our view, there is no single source for resilience (Rockville, 1996; Newmann, 2003). That means resilience is not a broad "stable" individual trait (Strumpfer, 2001)... Integral to the definition of resilience are the interactions among risk and protective factors at an intrapersonal level and environmental level... Protective factors operate to protect those at risk from the effects of the risk factors... While risk factors do not automatically lead to negative outcomes, their presence only exposes individuals to circumstances associated with a higher incidence of the outcome; protective factors contribute to positive outcomes regardless of the risk status.