Adult Resilience Initiative

DCRC’s Adult Resilience Initiative focuses on promoting the health and well- being of all adults who parent, nurture and/or work with young children. The critical connection between children’s resilience and the health and wellness of the adults in children’s lives can not be underestimated. DCRC’s Adult Resilience Initiative emerged in response to the growing understanding and appreciation that promoting children’s resilience depends significantly on the resilience of the adults caring for them.

The Devereux Adult Resilience Survey (DARS) is a 23 item reflective checklist that provides adults with information about their personal strengths. Information from the DARS can be used to help adults build on their identified strengths so that they are better able to cope with stress and the challenges of caring for young children. Statistical analyses show that the DARS is an excellent tool for adults and provides valuable insights, particularly in these four areas: Relationships, Internal Beliefs, Initiative and Self-control.

The DARS is incorporated into Building Your Bounce: Simple Strategies for a Resilient You, an Adult Resilience Journal. The ideas in this resource are simple and straightforward and, they can make a very positive impact on caregivers’ lives. The overwhelmingly positive reception for Building Your Bounce has provided the DCRC team with a stronger appreciation for the need to focus on adult resilience, resulting in the creation of several professional development events on this important topic. An effort to reach professionals with this important information through keynote addresses, training and technicalassistance sessions and web-based information sharing has become and will remain a strategic focus for DCRC.