4. Resilience as a multi-factorial concept
Thinking of resilience as a process necessitates consideration of interaction between a range of
risk and protective processes of varying degrees of impact, and a risk situation at varying points in
development. It is simplistic to believe that a clear single factor, such as parental divorce, is the
causal element in a negative chain of events leading to compromised social or academic or
relational competence. The risk process associated with parental divorce encompasses more than
the act of physical separation. Patterns of family interaction that precede, concur and follow the
physical separation of the parents are thought of as the extended process by which young people
are placed at risk of poor outcomes. While the adverse life circumstance may be described as the
event of divorce, multiple risk factors acting in synergy may far exceed the effect of one significant
life event (Luthar, 1993; Allen, 1998).