Introduction to the Special Issue on Resilience

Abstract

This article introduces this special issue on resilience by briefly reviewing its history and how contemporary researchers and theorists deliberate it today. Resilience, as a concept, emerged primarily from the work of Norman Garmezy, Emmy Werner, and Ruth Smith. It has transformed the field and shifted research, theory, and practice paradigms to a focus on strengths rather than deficits.

• Adversity
• Hope
• Protective factors
• Risk factors
• Resilience
• Vulnerability

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jeannette L. Johnson

Jeannette L. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Professor and Director of the Center for Research on Children and Youth in the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo. In the recent past, she was the Director of Research in the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland as well as the Special Assistant to the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Her research has centered on the effects of substance abuse in ethnocultural minorities, their families, and the communities in which they live. Her current work focuses on cross-cultural adaptations to risk and resilience.

Shelly A. Wiechelt

Shelly A. Wiechelt, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., C.A.S.A.C., is an Assistant Professor at the University at Buffalo, School of Social Work. She conducts research on substance abuse, shame and trauma in women. She works collaboratively with community practitioners to develop research projects and integrate research based interventions into agency practice. She has had extensive experience as a program manager and clinician in substance abuse and mental health treatment.