Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Pathways to Resilience in Adverse Settings:

Abstract #154
Beyond the Siege’s Shadow: Pathways to Intergenerational Resilience in Palestinian Refugee Families
Presenter: Devin Atallah 
Abstract:
The purpose of this presentation is to share the empirical findings of a study that investigated the resilience pathways of Palestinian refugee families living under the Israeli occupation over several generations. The study utilized transdisciplinary community-based approaches to research and qualitative methods when interviewing 5 extended families in a United Nations refugee camp in the West Bank. First, the researcher identified families with living elders who were forcibly removed from their indigenous lands in 1948. Subsequently, 25 semi-structured family and individual interviews were conducted with 3 generations within each of the 5 participating families. Using grounded theory situational analysis, an empirical model of intergenerational family adaptation in response to longstanding multifaceted political violence emerged. This model articulates key protective practices that Palestinian refugee families pass down across generations and theorizes family resilience within three themes: resistance to military siege and structural violence; return to cultural roots despite historical and ongoing displacement; and perseverance through continuous adversities and accumulating traumas. These findings offer helpful indicators of positive adjustment across multiple stages in the lifespan development of Palestinian refugees while contributing to literatures on intergenerational resilience in postcolonial settings with marginalized families exposed to historical trauma and continuous structural violence.

Abstract #180
‘You Need To Show You Care’: Cultural Diversity And Community Resilience Against Violent Extremism
Presenter: Michele Grossman 
Abstract:
This paper considers several key findings from a recent Australian study (Grossman and Tahiri 2014) investigating the role of cultural diversity in the context of resilience to violent extremism. Traditionally, counter-terrorism and emergency management resilience research and policy have focused largely on community risks and vulnerabilities (Grossman, 2014; Weine and Ahmed, 2012). By contrast, our study adopts an asset-based approach (Mohaupt 2009) that looks to both older and newer multi-faith Australian ethnocultural communities to identify elements of cultural identities, values, practices and beliefs that enable them to withstand and reject violence as a solution to social and political grievances and concerns. Based on qualitative data from more than 80 Lebanese-, Indonesian-, Somali- and South/Sudanese-Australian participants, key cross-cutting elements of ‘resilience capital’ both within and across cultures in the context of violent extremism emerged from the data. However, some culturally specific strategies for managing the uptake of violent extremism in communities, including complex dynamics of shame, social belonging and status, suggest that these can simultaneously strengthen and erode cultural and community resilience. The findings also emphasise the close relationship between the general capacity of resilient communities to be strong and well and maintaining resilience against violent extremism in particular.

Abstract #217
Self-Esteem And Resilience Differences Among Street Children Compared To Non-Street Children In Limpopo Province Of South Africa
Presenter: Mokoena Patronella Maepa
Abstract:
Street children phenomenon is an evitable social problem. Using an independent sample group design, this study aimed at exploring the differences in self-esteem and resilience among street children (N= 300) 8-18 years with the mean age of 15.92 (SD= 1.89) were selected using purposive sampling method non-street children (N=300) with ages ranging from 8-18 years with mean age of 15.46 (SD= 1.87). A questionnaire with four sections was used (section A: demographic information, section B: self-esteem scale and section C: resilience scale). An independent t-test was used to test the study hypothesis. The study revealed that street children reported low self-esteem t(598) = 20.03, p< .000 and  poor resilience t(598) = 9.48, p< .000 compared to non-street children. The study therefore concluded that street children and non-street children differ on self-esteem and resilience. Recommendations and implications are discussed.