The Importance of Measuring Resiliency with the FACT

According to the American Association of Psychology (APA) Dictionary of Psychology, resiliency is “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.”  

In other words, it is “the capacity to overcome and adapt successfully to the lingering challenges that threaten our very survival” (Mastern & Barnes, 2018).  

Why is measuring resiliency important?  

Unfortunately, traumatic life events are often unavoidable and some children experience great adversity early in life, which is associated with a risk for poor health during adulthood. However, what mitigating and protective factors allow some children to be more resilient than others when they face it? Emerging research shows resiliency can be fostered and developed in children, and schools can play a crucial role by teaching them healthier appraisal styles and strengthening their executive functioning skills. (Traub & Boynton-Jarrett, 2017). 

Measuring resiliency in school children is thus a key step to developing it, and the Feifer Assessment of Childhood Trauma, created by Steven G. Feifer, DEd, can be used to measure student adaptation and coping skills in a classroom learning environment. It contains four clinical cluster scores: Resiliency, Anxiety, Depression, and Inattention. 

The Resiliency cluster score, which is interpreted in the opposite direction from the other three, represents a combination of positive attributes that help the student alleviate frustration and maintain self-determination when in a crisis. The score is designed to determine the student’s current level of adaptive functioning and coping skill behaviors. Higher scores on the Resiliency cluster suggest less severe levels of impairment, whereas lower scores indicate greater school discomfort and a propensity for re-traumatization. Let’s see some examples:  

• A high score on the Resiliency cluster would imply that the student takes full responsibility for their actions and perceives their behaviors as successful coping strategies to escape unpleasant situations. Typically, they would have varied interests and hobbies, demonstrate excellent leadership skills, have a strong support system of peers, and often adapt well to sudden changes in routine. 

• A low score on the Resiliency cluster would picture a person with poor problem-solving skills and a low tolerance for frustration. They would not have a solid support system and would refuse to take responsibility for their actions. Their behavior in class would be negative, with frequent crying, numerous temper outbursts, and difficulty self-regulating their moods and emotions. 

How would this translate into practical situations? If there is a surprise fire drill in the school, for instance, a student with a high resiliency score would handle it just fine, while the opposite case would need guidance from school staff.  

Get a head start on teaching resiliency  

As mentioned, schools can play a crucial role in fostering resiliency in students, once they have assessed it accurately. They can teach the students social problem-solving skills, making them emotionally competent, which is crucial not only for their academic development but for their mental health and well-being in the future. Some techniques to increase the students' problem-solving skills are:  

• Teaching children to recognize their emotions and those of others. 

• Encouraging children to share their emotions with other people. 

• Enabling situations where children interact with their peers and improve their social skills. 

• Encouraging children to leave their comfort zone to promote new experiences. 

• Teaching children to be flexible and adaptable to new situations. Making them see that changes can be positive, although their life experiences may have taught them something different. If they have experienced adversity at home, for instance, it is understandable that they fear change, thinking it will always be for the worst. Teachers and counselors can help them see that this is a false belief.  

• Helping children to manage anger and frustration in a more constructive way than crying or having an outburst. In the example of the fire drill, they can learn to express their fear and disconcert, instead of behaving anxiously. Thus, the teacher can explain there is no real danger and soothe them.  

•  Encouraging children to be empathetic and to be able to take into account the emotions of others. This will help them not only to adapt to school and classmates but with relationships in their adult lives as well.