Resilience Protective Factors in an Older Adult Population: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis

Resilience is conceptualized as a dynamic process that leads to positive outcomes in the face of adversity. The resilience process consists of the activation and interaction of protective and vulnerability factors after encountering adversity. The present study seeks to integrate and synthesize the findings of existing qualitative studies premised in highlighting and exploring the protective factors associated with resilience in an older adult population through the systematic process of qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis. Results revealed nine distinct protective factors: (1) external connections, (2) meaningfulness, (3) previous experience with hardship, (4) grit, (5) self-care, (6) self-acceptance, (7) positive perspective on life, (8) independence, and (9) altruism. Findings offer researchers and practitioners a greater understanding of the protective factors associated with resilience among older adults and contribute to the advancement of resilience theory.