A key component of healthy development over the life course is the cultivation and maintenance of psychosocial resilience. In this chapter I draw on a life-course approach to consider pathways to resilience in the later years of adulthood,in terms of a sense of competency and esteem on the one hand and of connectedness to the broader community on the other. As an illustrative empirical example of life-course analysis I examine women's lives, drawing on panel data collected at two points in time, 30 years apart.

The nature of resilience

“Resilience” and “protective factors” are the counterparts to “vulnerability”and “risk factors,” connoting successful adaptation to challenges and adversity(Werner 1990). Although resilience has typically been used to refer to psychological attributes of the individual, the protective factors promoting such resilience encompass social as well as psychological elements. Research and theory in the areas of stress and developmental psychopathology depict two sets of protective factors promoting resilience in the face of life's adversities: social resources and personal resources (Rutter 1987; Schaefer & Moos 1992). Social resourcespertain to social integration or connectedness in the form of occupying multiple roles, the presence of a confidant relationship, good relationships with family and friends, and access to support networks. Personal resources encompass subjective dispositions such as self-esteem, mastery, a positive outlook,self-understanding, empathy, altruism, maturity, and basic values and priorities.Both personal and social resources can be termed psychosocial resources or, alternatively, coping resources.