Cultivating Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Socioecological Perspective

Annu Rev Psychol. 2022 Jan 4:73:575-598. doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-030221-031857. Epub 2021 Sep 27.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses wide-ranging impacts on the physical and mental health of people around the world, increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners on the topic of resilience. In this article, we review previous research on resilience from the past several decades, focusing on how to cultivate resilience during emerging situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic at the individual, organizational, community, and national levels from a socioecological perspective. Although previous research has greatly enriched our understanding of the conceptualization, predicting factors, processes, and consequences of resilience from a variety of disciplines and levels, future research is needed to gain a deeper and comprehensive understanding of resilience, including developing an integrative and interdisciplinary framework for cultivating resilience, developing an understanding of resilience from a life span perspective, and developing scalable and cost-effective interventions for enhancing resilience and improving pandemic preparedness.

Keywords: COVID-19; behavioral science; resilience; social capital; socioecological psychology.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemics / prevention & control
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • SARS-CoV-2