Inequalities in Resilience: Research report on the capacity of policies to attenuate the link between risks and poor outcomes

Abstract

We examine whether and how social policy can be effective in supporting family resilience. The concept of resilience is increasingly used in European policy making. We formulated the first version of the inequalities in (family) resilience framework, that differentiates between two distinct types of inequalities: inequalities in who experiences risks, and inequalities in how well people and families are resourced to respond to those risks. Based on that, we select and analyse a number of policies and examine their potential for supporting family resilience across European countries, with a special focus on Belgium, Croatia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and (to the extent that data availability allows) the United Kingdom. This examination will be based on a critical literature review and descriptive visualisations of (quantitative) indicators of social policy. This is followed by two policy case-studies used to demonstrate and test the framework developed here. The final section concludes and formulates recommendations and considerations to further develop family resilience in a policy context.

Exploring Resilience with Families: Overview report

“…Much of the work on resilience tends to take the situation in which people are expected to be resilient as status quo (apart from the 'shock'). The research reported here, as well as that of Bartova et al (2023) and Nieuwenhuis et al (2023), indicates the need to start from a recognition of the uneven distribution of material and other resources and the associated difficulties of 'disadvantaged' groups and communities to access the levers of change in situations calling for resilience or other forms of adjustment. A very broad set of resources may be needed to cope and the unit's resilience is signally determined by the volume and type of resources available and the capacity to use them.…”