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Resilience from the point of view of older people: ‘There's still life beyond a funny knee’

Author

Listed:
  • Wiles, Janine L.
  • Wild, Kirsty
  • Kerse, Ngaire
  • Allen, Ruth E.S.

Abstract

Resilience is a concept of growing interest in relation to older people and within the context of population ageing. In this paper we explore older people's understandings and experiences of resilience, drawing on interviews and participant-led focus groups with 121 older people living in two case-study communities in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Close reading of extended conversations about what characterises resilience, such as positive attitude, counting blessings or keeping busy, reveal how all of these apparently internal or personal characteristics are deeply embedded in social and physical contexts. We argue that resilience should be seen as a contextualised process which can be both individual and environmental. Older people's experiences highlight the need to consider the effectiveness of environmental community resources and social–political structures such as state-funded service availability, as well as the personal characteristics that are usually focused on when considering resilience in old age. We also argue that it is important to consider different aspects of resilience, so that a person or group might face constraints in one area, such as physical or economic wellbeing, but be strong in other areas such as social relationships or mobility. Resilience can mean acknowledging and incorporating ‘vulnerability’ and balancing wellbeing across a range of areas. Thus even those living with significant illness or hardship can be understood to be ageing well and indeed to be resilient. Far from using resilience as a narrow measure against which to succeed or fail, resilience is a useful concept framing how ageing well can incorporate multidimensional pathways including both vulnerability and flourishing. We must pay adequate attention to the broader physical and social contexts and scales that underpin – or undermine – individual resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Wiles, Janine L. & Wild, Kirsty & Kerse, Ngaire & Allen, Ruth E.S., 2012. "Resilience from the point of view of older people: ‘There's still life beyond a funny knee’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(3), pages 416-424.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:3:p:416-424
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.11.005
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Torrejón, María-José & Martin-Matthews, Anne, 2022. "A qualitative approach to bridging and bonding social capital: Experiences of a cohort of Chilean older people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    2. Rishworth, Andrea & Elliott, Susan J., 2019. "Global environmental change in an aging world: The role of space, place and scale," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 128-136.
    3. Wiles, Janine & Miskelly, Philippa & Stewart, Oneroa & Kerse, Ngaire & Rolleston, Anna & Gott, Merryn, 2019. "Challenged but not threatened: Managing health in advanced age," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 227(C), pages 104-110.
    4. Danan Gu & Qiushi Feng, 2018. "Psychological Resilience of Chinese Centenarians and Its Associations With Survival and Health: A Fuzzy Set Analysis," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(5), pages 880-889.
    5. Morris, Stephanie & Guell, Cornelia & Pollard, Tessa M., 2019. "Group walking as a “lifeline”: Understanding the place of outdoor walking groups in women's lives," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Karol Konaszewski & Małgorzata Niesiobędzka & Janusz Surzykiewicz, 2020. "Validation of the Polish version of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, August.
    7. Pearson, Amber L. & Pearce, Jamie & Kingham, Simon, 2013. "Deprived yet healthy: Neighbourhood-level resilience in New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 238-245.
    8. Wiles, Janine L. & Rolleston, Anna & Pillai, Avinesh & Broad, Joanna & Teh, Ruth & Gott, Merryn & Kerse, Ngaire, 2017. "Attachment to place in advanced age: A study of the LiLACS NZ cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 27-37.

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