Resilience promoting factors have commonly been discussed within three broad areas:
individual young people, their families and the societies in which they live (Garmezy, 1991;
Werner, 1995). A more expanded framework of resilience might include protective processes
(resources, competencies, talents and skills) that sit within the individual (individual-level factors),
within the family and peer network (social-level factors), and within the whole school
environment and the community (societal-level factors). Assessment of the adaptive capacity of
an individual could then proceed in terms of a comprehensive assessment of resources at each
level. Likewise, effective interventions could be aimed at developing the individual’s internal
C.A. Olsson et al. / Journal of Adolescence 26 (2003) 1–11 3resources and skills and equally importantly changing the social environment to further promote
resilience. Considerable research effort has sought to elucidate key protective factors that sit
within individuals, between individuals, and in the material/physical environment. Table 1
illustrates the breadth of psychosocial factors researchers have looked at in studies of resilience.