7. Summary remarks
Although the term resilience has gained great popularity, different research groups have viewed
resilience within different risk settings, examined the impact of different protective processes, and
defined resilient outcomes according to different criteria. This review has emphasized how
resilience has been investigated both as an outcome of adaptation and as a process of adaptation.
Investigations of resilient outcomes have focussed on the maintenance of functionality (e.g.
vocation, relational or academic competence) despite risk to the contrary. Investigating the
process of adaptation has necessitated assessment of a range of risk and protective mechanisms
that act in concert and over time to mediate the effects of a risk setting.
By identifying a common sub-structure involving assessment of the risk setting, the interaction of
risk and protective process, and resultant adaptive outcomes, it may be possible to integrate the
findings of seemingly diverse studies. By identifying key dimensions of the concept of resilience,
concordant measures can then be developed. Specifically, measurement may focus on assessment of
the range of protective processes antecedent to an adaptive response or the outcome of adaptation.