ABSTRACT
The chapter applies a sociological lens to understanding resilience in later life. It refutes the notion of resilience as an individual attribute and the corresponding implications of self-responsibility and blame for those who “lack resilience.” A number of areas are identified as essential to understanding resilience in later life. It needs to be seen as significantly influenced by earlier lifecourse factors, including experiences and circumstances that have strengthened resilience and those that have detracted from it. Older people’s own perceptions and experiences have to be placed to the fore, including their perspectives on what constitutes strengths and vulnerabilities. The contribution that older people themselves make to supporting the resilience of others and to building the resilience of their communities needs to be recognized. Resilience needs to be understood as multidimensional and fluid; it may change at different times, and vulnerability in one area may co-exist with strength in another. Given that risks and protective factors for resilience encompass the interacting domains of individual, family, community and society, it is imperative that action to build and maintain older people’s resilience addresses each of these levels.
