100763: Resiliency Capacities Among Rural Low-Income Families

About the Course:

The purpose of this article is to help human service practitioners recognize and understand the stressor events and crises faced by rural low-income families as a basis for development of appropriate social support strategies. Identifying protective and recovery factors utilized by these families fills a gap in research on stress, crises, and resilience. The article is based on a study involving 34 in-depth interviews of rural mothers. Analysis revealed that these families used a variety of protective and recovery factors to manage stress and prevent crisis or cope with crises-indicators of their resiliency capacities. Implications, as corroborated by previous research for human service practitioners, are discussed. COURSE SYLLABUS I. Introduction II. Family Stress III. Family Resiliency IV. Method V. Results VI. Discussion A) Events and Family Recovery Factors B) Crises and Family Recovery Factors C) Rural Programming Implications D) Application to Family Resilience

Publication Date:

2004/ Vol. 85, No. 4

Authors

Maria Vandergriff-Avery, PhD; Elaine A. Anderson, PhD; Bonnie Braun, PhD

About the Authors:

Assistant Professor Department of Sociology Catawba College

Professor Department of Family Studies University of Maryland

Associate Professor Department of Family Studies University of Maryland

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, psychologists, and other human services and behavioral health professionals who seek knowledge about resiliency in low-income families. It is appropriate for participants with all levels of knowledge about the topic.

Course Objectives:

1. Describe the implications of these factors for human service practitioners working with low-income rural families.

2. Identify stressor events and crises among low-income rural families.

3. Describe protective and recovery factors utilized by low-income rural families.