Building Farm and Farm Family Resilience in our Communities

A brief history of resilience is contained in this 2020 Stockholm Resilience Centre15-minute video titled: What is Social-Ecological Resilience? Emphasis is placed on socio-ecological resilience and the area of resilience thinking in complex ecological systems. With visuals accompanying key points, the speaker explains social-ecological systems resilience in easily understood terms.

VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_KQCqcb7EQ

Individual and Fami ly Resi l ience

Resilience is a dynamic process and a measure of health, or well-being and vitality, for farm enterprises and the people associated with the farm. The extent to which an individual or family is resilient during tough times is a combination of the individuals in the family and extended family members and the communities with which they interact (communities of place, interest, and/or beliefs). Resilience science contains credible evidence about how individuals and families can prevent and recover from stress and crises--how they get through tough times and challenges (McCubbin et al., 1997; Patterson, 2002 April and 2002 May; Braun, 2019; Walsh, 2007, 2009, 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013, 2015, 2016a, 2016b). However, research on resilience among individual farmers is minimal. In a study of nearly 10,000 published research projects between 1979 and 2017, most were found to be focused on stress (42%); suicide (33%); depression (33%); and only 6% on resilience (Hagen et al., 2019). These findings led the authors to recommend that resilience be taught and increased among farmers with accompanying research on how resilience could be best taught. While resilience can be specific to individuals and families and the type of stress or crisis, research shows that such characteristics of family resilience as harmony, communication skills, family time, financial management skills, optimism, hardiness, support networks, and flexibility can buffer the impacts of distress (Danes, 2014; Defrain, 1999). Evidence has shown that positive emotions can help people regulate distress (Folkman, 2008). Each of these resilience factors can be strengthened when individuals and their immediate and extended families are aware of the role the factors and family members play in positive outcomes for the farm business and family living.

42

Powered by