Educational Alternatives, Volume 13, 2015

Abstract: Resilience of an individual is an indicator of his ability to develop, adapt and preserve the stability/balance in difficult situations. The first studies on resilience originate in child psychology and psychiatry. Contemporary authors define resilience as a dynamic process involving positive adaptation in the context of adverse living conditions. Resilience, vitality, self-regulation, coping behavior and psychological defense mechanisms influence the processes of human adaptation. Senior high school students (the average age of 16 years) took part in our empirical study on teenagers’ resilience and social adaptation. A variety of methods for empirical data collecting were used: observation, expert interviews and test methods. We hypothesized that the resilience of adolescents is associated with indicators of social adaptation. The results of our study have confirmed an existence of relationship between resilience, social adaptation and social disadaptation. First, we have found that the main causes of adolescents’ social disadaptation are: manifestation of anxiety and hostility to adults, impulsivity and failure to comply with social norms. Secondly, the low level of the risk group’s resilience is determined by the lack of control over events and determination on choice making in difficult situations, including traumatic ones. Therefore, resilience is an important resource for the adolescents’ development and social adaptation to environmental conditions.