This study investigates the process of resilience from the perspective of military wives during deployment. The study had two main goals: 1) to further understand the deployment experience, as it is lived personally and within the family, and 2) to develop a theory-based resilience model, guided by family stress and resilience theory, highlighting the role of communication within the family resilience process. According to the FAAR Model (Patterson, 1988; 2002), resilience involves three components: meanings, demands, and capabilities. Based on the goals of the study and the three main components of resilience, five broad research questions guided the study: How do military spouses perceive, interpret, and make meaning of their experience with spousal deployment? How do spouses cope with the spousal deployment experience? How do spouses perceive the family deployment and coping experience? What supportive resources and responses are most helpful for military spouses during spousal deployment, and why? And what supportive resources and responses are most unhelpful for military spouses during spousal deployment, and why? The data are also viewed through a lens of ambiguous loss theory (Boss, 1999; 2004; 2006; 2007), as deployment is a stressful situation that incorporates uncertainty, loss, and a presence-absence paradox for spouses and families. To investigate these questions and develop these theories, in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 military wives who were currently experiencing deployment. The results illustrate various aspects of women’s perceptions of their deployment experiences, including how they make sense of these experiences. Women did not only discuss their own personal experiences; they also reported experiences at relational and family levels. Paralleling these tri-level perceptions of the experience, women’s approaches to coping also occurred at individual, relational, and family levels. Different coping strategies within each level are outlined and discussed. Finally, women’s perceptions and evaluations of the responses they receive from others, both supportive and unsupportive, are reported and discussed. Based on the results, a transactional model of family resilience, highlighting the central role of communication, is proposed. Implications for theory (e.g., stress and resilience theories, ambiguous loss theory) and practice are discussed. Future directions for research are explored. / text

This study investigated the cultural and family contexts of Filipino immigrant families and their experiences of challenges related to adolescent development. The systems theory of family resiliency (Walsh, 2006) served as a framework to interpret how Filipino mothers experienced and navigated these challenges. Using a qualitative approach, 20 Filipino mothers of adolescents between the ages of 13-19 years were interviewed, investigating their experiences of challenges related to adolescent development and the strategies used to overcome these challenges. Thematic analysis indicated that cultural values and family contexts shaped mothers‟ experiences of adolescent developmental challenges and the development of strategies to overcome these challenges. Discussions of these topics corresponded with the systems theory of family resilience (Walsh, 2006). Overall, the implications of the study reinforce the usefulness of a resilience-oriented paradigm to understand how immigrant families mobilize cultural and family resources during difficult challenges to foster family empowerment and strengthen family relations.

The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the resilience processes employed by families from a low socio-economic background living in a predominantly black township (Mamelodi). The study further aimed to assess how the participants’ experiences have shaped their perceptions of their society. Walsh’s family resilience framework (2003) served as a conceptual framework for the study. Two grandparent-headed households were selected from an ongoing study at a nongovernmental organisation and drop-in centre in Mamelodi. A qualitative methodology was suitable for this study, because it aims to understand how the participants derive meaning from the social and cultural contexts within which they live. The two focus group discussions were conducted in isiZulu, with a translator present during the grandmothers’ focus group discussion, because one of the grandmothers spoke Xitsonga. The sessions were audio-recorded and later transcribed. The transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis in order to deduce themes that emerged from the participants’ experiences. Based on the results, a better understanding of how families from low socio-economic backbackgrounds develop their resilience was established through the themes that emerged, which were as follows: belief system, flexibility of roles and connectedness, unsupportive environment, and self-empowerment. The results were related to existing literature and Walsh’s family resilience framework. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Educational Psychology / MEd

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While there has been extensive research on the quality of life for people with disabilities, very little research has been conducted on the way in which families impact the quality of life of these individuals. This study focused on how family dynamics impact the quality of life for people with disabilities who are clients of state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Specifically, family flexibility and cohesion, as well as family resilience, were the independent variables; quality of life was the dependent variable. It was found that family functioning and family resilience play an important role in the quality of life for people with disabilities. There was a strong relationship between family functioning and quality of life, in addition to family resilience and quality of life. Ten life domains were used to examine quality of life: physical health, mental health, work/education, leisure activities, relationship with significant other, family relationships, social relationships, financial situation, independence/autonomy, and religious/spiritual expression. For each domain, the participant was asked four questions on the importance, control, satisfaction, and impact of disability. Family functioning and family resilience significantly correlated with all of the 10 life domains on most of the four factors. Family dynamics account for 36% of the variance of quality of life. Family dynamics significantly impact the quality of life for people with disabilities and therefore should be taken into consideration in the rehabilitation process.

Although there is a vast body of literature on family resilience, very little represents research from an explicitly Indigenous paradigm. This research process included an Indigenous research path and a case study informed by Indigenous worldview. The data collected in both informed the findings presented here and contributed to the creation of the final model for building resilience in Indigenous families. The results demonstrate how self-determination in research, service delivery, organizational leadership, spiritual connection and individual, every-day practice can be a powerful expression of freedom, liberty and humanity. The case study maps how the self-determination of an Aboriginal organization, resulted in the creation of a program that assists violent Aboriginal men reconcile their traumatic histories, reconnect to an interconnected worldview and repatriate their responsibilities as men within a strong, healthy Aboriginal society.

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This thesis explores how Māori whānau cope under the circumstance of multiple job holding in four whānau who have at least one member who is a multiple job holder. The study uses a behavioural model of family resilience to identify the factors that enable or inhibit whānau coping. It finds that the reasons that influence Māori whānau multiple job holding can shape the whānau ability to cope while multiple job holding. The whānau in this study were found to have multiple motives for multiple job holding. Multiple job holding was used as a buffer mechanism because of previous financial stresses and strains, to facilitate future career and employment development and to enable a parent to fulfil what they perceived to be parental-financial obligations. In one case a demand for Māori skilled professional workers, led a whānau member to take on an extra job to fill this demand. Of importance, the study finds that resources are an essential factor when considering how whānau cope. Coping is facilitated by access to multiple resources and the types of resources required by whānau will be contextually specific in each whānau case.

Family resilience is bandied about construct that is used rather imprecisely, including with its measurement. Although family resilience is now in its third wave (Henry, Morris & Harrist, 2015), findings from qualitative research and case studies are as, if not more, plentiful than those from quantitative research (e.g., author cites; Anderson, Amanor-Boadu, Stith, & Foster, 2015; Jackson, Wolven, & Aguilera, 2013). Until the development of the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire (WFRQ) in 2015, a family level resilience instrument based on Walsh’s theoretical framework (2003) was not readily available. Thus, the debate of qualitative versus quantitative measurement of family resilience continues. The purpose of the proposed roundtable is to continue the debate by discussing the relative merit of qualitative and quantitative approaches to the measurement of family resilience. The roundtable will conclude with a discussion about the importance of cultural competence in family resilience research (author cite; Walsh, 2015).

In this student presentation, the focus is on resilience in cross cultural contexts as experienced by foster and adoptive families. The topic is explored from the point of view of the child primarily, and the parents welcoming that child into their family system secondarily; it is a bidirectional interaction. By reviewing literature on childhood turbulence, blogs written by foster/adoptive parents, and considering personal experiences, several distinct challenges stood out. Resilience is strengthened by mutual support to handle challenges constructively. The entire system can collaborate to facilitate and maintain resilience from a family systems perspective. A children’s book was written to illustrate a family’s transitional process in foster care/adoption. Stemming from unique personal perspectives on cross-cultural fostering/adoption, paralleled with a desire to make this information child friendly, this short story was told from the viewpoint of a young child learning to manage expectations and challenges while gaining a new sibling through adoption.