An Exploration of the Relationship Between Story and Resilience

Erica Schoon

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Graham, Steven

Keywords

Story, Personal Narrative, Resilience, At-Risk Youth

Area of Concentration

General Studies

Abstract

This thesis uses Robert Coles's Children of Crisis series as a starting point for examining the dynamic relationship between the concepts of story and psychological resilience in the United States. I discuss Coles's treatment of young people in crisis in the 1960s and 1970s and the parallel situations in the US today. Using studies from a broad range of disciplines and portraits of children from Coles's books, this thesis demonstrates the dynamic relationship between story and resilience by exploring the representation of resilience in published or public stories, as well as the influence of story on resilience. I detail the development of vulnerability, or risk, and what it means for an at-risk child to develop a resilient response to adversity. I also discuss the role of story as an overarching mentality as well as various storied strategies that promote well-being and resilience. I pay particular attention to the idea of the personal narrative and issues of identity. I conclude with a discussion of how these ideas from an analysis of Children of Crisis can be implemented in a contemporary context.

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