Personal resilience and coping with implications for work. Part I: A review

BACKGROUND: Interest in resilience has increased in recent years. The U.S. military focus is on personal health and adaptation following exposure to battle, while the civilian interest centers on adjustments subsequent to disastrous events. Coping skills are also relevant, yet the relationships between coping and resilience are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This brief review examines personal resilience and individual coping strategies, exploring definitions of each, along with their potential relationships to one another. Their potential contributions within a work setting are described. METHODS: A literature review was conducted using search terms of resilience, resiliency, personal resilience, coping and resilient coping. RESULTS: Coping refers to one’s using purposeful actions to handle life situations. Coping techniques can be functional or dysfunctional and the situations one copes with may be acute or long term, severe or minor. Resilience refers to positive and functional handling of oneself and ones’ life, referring to the ability to recover, recuperate, and regenerate following tragic events. While coping and resilience are related to one another, they are distinct concepts. Positive coping techniques may contribute to resilience. However, which coping techniques improve resilience, and in what circumstances, are questions for future research.