Resilience is a factor related to positive health outcomes. Exploring this concept among adults experiencing homelessness can inform interventions while subsequently considering individuals’ strengths. A phenomenographic approach was applied to examine this concept among a sample of 22 individuals involved in qualitative interviews. The phenomenographic inquiry identified eight conceptions and found resilience is captured in both positive and negative ways. Conceptions are summarized by two categories, situated in an outcome space which describes the overall resilience experience and the different ways these conceptions are understood and experienced. Categories summarize conceptions as Staying Strong and Sustaining Positive Beliefs, which highlight the construct as being captured by a persistent positive aspect; however, the findings also uniquely describe the influence of negative conceptions toward the overall phenomenon. The findings suggest resilience is recognizable during adversity, and it is a phenomenon that has the potential to be strengthened.
ÅkerlindG. S. (2012). Variation and commonality in phenomenographic research methods. Higher Education Research & Development, 31, 115–127. doi:10.1080/07294360.2011.642845
BarnardA.GerberR. (1999). Understanding technology in contemporary surgical nursing: A phenomenographic examination. Nursing Inquiry, 6, 157–166. doi:10.1046/j.1440-1800.1999.00031.x
4.
BarnardA.McCoskerH.GerberR. (1999). Phenomenography: A qualitative research approach for exploring understanding in health care. Qualitative Health Research, 9, 212–226. doi:10.1177/104973299129121794
5.
BonannoG. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events?American Psychologist, 59, 20–28. doi:10.1037/1942-9681.S.1.101
6.
BoydellK. M.GoeringP.Morrell-BellaiT. L. (2000). Narratives of identity: Re-presentation of self in people who are homeless. Qualitative Health Research, 10, 26–38. doi:10.1177/104973200129118228
7.
ClokeP.JonM.JohnsenS. (2010). Swept up lives? Re-envisioning the homeless city. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1111/cag.12113
8.
DangM. T. (2014). Social connectedness and self-esteem: Predictors of resilience in mental health among maltreated homeless youth. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35, 212–219. doi:10.3109/01612840.2013.860647
9.
DavidW.CohenM. B. (1991). The power of the people: Homeless protesters in the aftermath of social movement participation. Social Problems, 38, 543–561. doi:10.3868/s050-004-015-0003-8
10.
DavidsonL.ShaharG.LawlessM. S.SellsD.TondoraJ. (2006). Play, pleasure, and other positive life events: “Non–specific” factors in recovery from mental Illness?Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 69, 151–163. doi:10.1521/psyc.2006.69.2.151
DuMontK. A.WidomC. S.CzajaS. J. (2007). Predictors of resilience in abused and neglected children grown-up: The role of individual and neighborhood characteristics. Child Abuse and Neglect, 31, 255–274. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.11.015
Finfgeld-ConnettD.BloomT. L.JohnsonE. D. (2012). Perceived competency and resolution of homelessness among women with substance abuse problems. Qualitative Health Research, 22, 416–427. doi:10.1177/1049732311421493
15.
FriborgO.HjemdalO.RosenvingeJ. H.MartinussenM. (2003). A new rating scale for adult resilience: What are the central protective resources behind healthy adjustment?International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 12, 65–76. doi:10.1002/mpr.143
16.
GaetzS.DejE.RichterT.RedmanM. (2016). The state of homelessness in Canada 2016: A Canadian observatory on homelessness research paper. Toronto: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press.
17.
GucciardiD. F.HantonS.GordonS.MallettC. J.TembyP. (2015). The concept of mental toughness: Tests of dimensionality, nomological network, and traitness. Journal of Personality, 83, 26–44. doi:10.1111/jopy.12079
18.
HarveyM. R. (2007). Towards an ecological understanding of resilience in trauma survivors. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 14, 9–32. doi:10.1300/J146v14n01
19.
HatalaA. R.PearlT.Bird-NaytowhowK.JudgeA.SjoblomE.LiebenbergL. (2017). “I have strong hopes for the future”: Time orientations and resilience among Canadian Indigenous youth. Qualitative Health Research, 27, 1330–1344. doi:10.1177/1049732317712489
20.
HendricksonZ. M.KimJ.TolW. A.ShresthaA.KafleH. M.LuitelN. P.. . . SurkanP. J. (2018). Resilience among Nepali widows after the death of a spouse: “That was my past and now I have to see my present.”Qualitative Health Research, 28, 466–478. doi:10.1177/1049732317739265
21.
HerrmanH.StewartD. E.Diaz-GranadosN.BergerE. L.JacksonB.YuenT. (2011). What is resilience?Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 56, 258–265.
22.
HwangS. W.AubryT.PalepuA.FarrellS.NisenbaumR.HubleyA. M.. . . ChambersC. (2011). The health and housing in transition study: A longitudinal study of the health of homeless and vulnerably housed adults in three Canadian cities. International Journal of Public Health, 56, 609–623. doi:10.1007/s00038-011-0283-3
23.
KiddS. (2008). Resilience in homeless youth: The key role of self-esteem. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 78, 163–172. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.78.2.163
24.
KiddS.DavidsonL. (2010). “You have to adapt because you have no other choice”: The stories of strength and resilience of 208 homeless youth in New York City and Toronto. Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 975–991. doi:10.1002/jcop
25.
LarssonJ.HolmstromI. (2007). Phenomenographic or phenomenological analysis: Does it matter? Examples from a study on anaesthesiologists work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 2, 55–64. doi:10.1080/17482620601068105
26.
LoM. L. (2012). From variation theory to learning study. In Variation theory and the improvement of teaching and learning (pp. 9–39). Göteborg, Sweden: Acta universitatis Gothoburgensis.
27.
LutharS. S.CicchettiD.BeckerB. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00164
28.
LutharS. S.DoernbergerC. H.ZiglerE. (1993). Resilience is not a unidimensional construct: Insights from a prospective study of inner-city adolescents. Development & Psychopathology, 5, 703–717. doi:10.1017/S0954579400006246
29.
LynchS. M.KeaslerA. L.ReavesR. C.ChannerE. G.BukowskiL. T. (2007). The story of my strength. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 14, 75–97. doi:10.1300/J146v14n01
30.
MartonF. (1981). Phenomenography—Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10, 177–200.
31.
MartonF. (1986). Phenomenography—A research approach to investigating different understandings of reality. Journal of Thought, 21, 28–49.
32.
MartonF.PongW. Y. (2005). On the unit of description in phenomenography. Higher Education Research & Development, 24, 335–348. doi:10.1080/07294360500284706
33.
MastenA. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 227–238. doi:1037//0003-066X.56.3.227
34.
MilesM. B.HubermanA.SaldañaJ. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
35.
MorseJ. M. (2015). Critical analysis of strategies for determining rigor in qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Health Research, 25, 1212–1222. http://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315588501
36.
PearceM. E.JongbloedK. A.RichardsonC. G.HendersonE. W.PooyakS. D.Oviedo-JoekesE.. . . SpittalP. M. (2015). The Cedar Project: Resilience in the face of HIV vulnerability within a cohort study involving young Indigenous people who use drugs in three Canadian cities. BMC Public Health, 15, Article 1095. doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2417-7
37.
RewL.Taylor-SeehaferM.ThomasN. Y.YockeyR. D. (2001). Correlates of resilience in homeless adolescents. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33, 33–40. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2001.00033.x
38.
RöingM.HolmströmI. K.LarssonJ. (2018). A metasynthesis of phenomenographic articles on understandings of work among healthcare professionals. Qualitative Health Research, 28, 273–291. doi:10.1177/1049732317719433
39.
RutterM. (1999). Resilience concepts and findings: Implications for family therapy. Journal of Family Therapy, 21, 119–144. doi:10.1111/1467-6427.00108
40.
ScaliJ.GandubertC.RitchieK.SoulierM.AncelinM. L.ChaudieuI. (2012). Measuring resilience in adult women using the 10-items Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Role of trauma exposure and anxiety disorders. PLoS ONE, 7(6), e39879. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039879
41.
SingerB. H.RyffC. D. (Eds.). (2001). New horizons in health: An integrative approach. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1016/0300-9629(78)90078-6
42.
SiriwardhanaC.AliS.RobertsB.StewartR. (2014). A systematic review of resilience and mental health outcomes of conflict-driven adult forced migrants. Conflict and Health, 8, Article 13. doi:10.1186/1752-1505-8-13
43.
SmithB. W.TooleyE. M.ChristopherP. J.KayV. S. (2010). Resilience as the ability to bounce back from stress: A neglected personal resource?The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5, 166–176. doi:10.1080/17439760.2010.482186
SvenssonL. (1997). Theoretical foundations of phenomenography. Higher Education Research & Development, 16, 159–171. doi:10.1080/0729436970160204
46.
ThompsonS. J.RyanT. N.MontgomeryK. L.LippmanA. D. P.BenderK.FergusonK. (2016). Perceptions of resiliency and coping: Homeless young adults speak out. Youth & Society, 48, 58–76. doi:10.1177/0044118X13477427
47.
UngarM. (2003). Qualitative contributions to resilience research. Qualitative Social Work, 2, 85–102. doi:10.1177/1473325003002001123
48.
WangK.-W. K.BarnardA. (2008). Caregivers’ experiences at home with a ventilator-dependent child. Qualitative Health Research, 18, 501–508. doi:10.1177/1049732307306185
49.
WernerE. E.JohnsonJ. (2002). Can we apply resilience? In GlantzM.JohnsonJ. (Eds.), Resilience and development: Positive life adaptations (pp. 259–268). New York: Kluwer Academic. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
50.
WingoA. P.WrennG.PelletierT.GutmanA. R.BradleyB.ResslerK. J. (2010). Moderating effects of resilience on depression in individuals with a history of childhood abuse or trauma exposure. Journal of Affective Disorders, 126, 411–414. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.04.009
51.
WiseC.PhillipsK. (2013). Hearing the silent voices: Narratives of health care and homelessness. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 34, 359–367. doi:10.3109/01612840.2012.757402
