A dual pathway for understanding the relation between wellbeing and resilience

Abstract

This study investigates the intricate connections between relational wellbeing and individual resilience, through family and community protective factors. As such, we aim to bridge an existing gap in resilience literature by examining the elements that contribute to individual resilience from a relational perspective through a random sample of slum dwellers in Indonesia. To address this research gap, we adopted White’s conceptualisation of relational wellbeing and integrated Benard’s perspective on individual resilience and applied them using established measures to assess the general population living in slum areas across three Indonesian cities: Bima, Manado and Pontianak. Rigorous confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to establish the validity and reliability of all employed measures. The results of the mediated-path analysis underscore the significance of family protective factors in most relationships between dimensions of relational wellbeing and individual resilience. Notably, the two mediators exhibited distinct effects: the former positively mediated the relation, while the latter demonstrated an inverted mediation effect. These findings significantly enhance our understanding of the nuanced interplay between wellbeing and resilience, particularly regarding the impact of familial and community support on individuals’ ability to cope with daily life challenges, especially in disaster-prone areas.