Toward a Middle-Range Theory of Resilience

The ability to transform disaster into a growth experience and move forward defines the concept of resilience. Nursing is concerned with individuals in this process of moving through adversity and with its own contribution to that process. However, when one examines the literature on resilience for insight into its nature, inconsistencies emerge, suggesting that further theoretical delineation of the concept is needed. This article reports a concept synthesis of resilience undertaken to clarify this confusion. A model, disclosed through the literature, postulates resilience as a four-dimensional construct with the simultaneity paradigm of nursing science.