Resilience, in the field of health as it relates to youth, is the ability to face adversity and survive in spite of that adversity. Even more, it is the capacity to excel when things aren’t going well. Sounds confusing? Let’s clarify.

Some kids grow up under such terrible circumstances that you might think they'd have no chance at a normal life, yet they ultimately do very well as they grow up. Many children of alcoholics go on to live free of alcohol addiction. Many kids subjected to terrible childhood abuse do not become abusers in adulthood. Many youngsters who grow up in gang-infested inner cities go on to live productive lives free of drugs and violence.