Un modello di resilienza familiare per l'intervento e la prevenzione

- This article illustrates the characteristics, applications, and advantages of a popular Family Resilience framework based on nine key processes: Making Meaning of Adversity, Positive Outlook, Transcendence and Spirituality, Flexibility, Connectedness, Social and Economic Resources, Clarity, Open Emotional Expression, and Collaborative Problem-solving. The construct of Family Resilience is proposed as having a great potential for interven-tion, prevention, research, and social policies aimed to strengthen families. Examples of possible applications are presented.

Costruire la resilienza familiare in contesti post bellici

- Recent research findings highlight the role of context and family function-ning (Walsh, 2008) in strengthening resilience both individual and familiar. Studies about adolescents in post conflict context (Galvani, 2008) have confirmed the relevance of meanings (considered both as a making process and content) in mobilizing resources in the face of adversities. Literature (Antonovsky, 1987; Almedom e Glandom, 2007) states that Sense of Coherence (event's Comprehensibility, Manageability and Meaningfulness) indicates resilience in face of critical events. This study on Kosovar adolescents who experienced war during childhood (N. 144) suggests the centrality of family support and family functioning in making meaning out of adversities in order to enact individual adjustment. Data confirm family sense of coherence as resilience mediator in wellbeing.

Editoriale. Resilienza: un costrutto alla ricerca di una teoria

- After a brief historical introduction, this introductory article offers an overview of the construct of Relational Resilience (RR) within the light of Relational Competence Theory (RCT). This theory consists of 16 specific abilities ranging from fundamental experiences of feelings, rationality, activity, awareness (of self and context) to settings, levels of description and explanation, basic abilities to love and to control self, combination of both abilities, the Triangle of Life, developmental differentiation, styles, interactions, selfhood, priorities, as well as distance regulation, the Drama Triangle, intimacy, and the ability to negotiate and problem-solve. Interac-tive practical exercises to improve RR are included in appendix.

La coppia nella famiglia ricostituita dopo la separazione e il divorzio: un esempio di resilienza

- This study investigates possible differences concerning romantic attachment and marital quality through a comparison between a sample of couples in stepfamilies after the divorce of one or both partners (N = 18) and another sample of intact couples (N = 68). The Experiences in Close Relationships scale is utilised to examine romantic attachment, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale is employed to assess dyadic adjustment and the Parental Bonding Instrument is used to measure the quality of parental bonding for each partner. The partners in stepfamily couples reported that they have negatively perceived maternal care during their childhood and described a greater levels of anxiety concerning romantic attachment; however step-family couples showed protective variables in couple relationship, that were perceived satisfying and represent a resiliency factor in regard to the break-up of their first marriage and the lack of maternal care.

Resilienza e bambini separati dalla propria famiglia d'origine. Una ricerca su 21 bambini nascosti sopravvissuti alla Shoah

- This paper reports on a qualitative research about resilience processes in Holocaust child survivors, particularly hidden children. Data refer to 21 life stories collected through 19 semi-structured interviews and 2 published biographies and analyzed assuming a Long Term approach that focuses on all life trajectories to obtain developmental outcomes within a life time perspective. The main aim of the research is to understand the protective factors that enable child survivors to develop and grow and can be used by social practitioners working with vulnerable children and families, in order to foster similar resilient responses in children away from home. Key words: resilience, child survivors, Holocaust, children out of home, protective factors.

La resilienza familiare: un modello integrato di ricerca e di intervento

- The transformations occurring within family relationships, on a psychological and social level, refer to a widespread and pervasive "fragility" of such relations and their meanings. The aim of the paper is to build an integrated model to understand the family protective and risk factors, according to the family resilience framework. An integrated model can facilitate a more attentive analysis of the family complexity, taking into account structural and processual variables, while overcoming the dichotic view that too often separates "families with problems", from "families with resources". This work will examine family functioning, adult attachment styles and relations with social workers, as part of the broader family resilience framework, in natural and foster families that refer to a Social Service in Genoa.